© Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters
There are more people in Germany who could potentially commit terrorist acts than ever in the past, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told German daily
Bild in an interview, adding that the terrorist threat in Germany is "very real."
More than 520 people in Germany are capable of committing "unexpected" and potentially "high-profile" terrorist attacks inspired by Islamism, de Maiziere said in the interview, published on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US. He also added that the current number of potential terrorists in Germany
is at its highest in history.The minister also warned that, along with
potential Islamist attackers, there are
also about 360 people who are "closely affiliated"with them and could lend assistance in preparing an attack or "provide logistical support" to the assailants. He added that such people usually belong to potential terrorists' "inner circle".
De Maiziere emphasized that
"today, the threat comes from both
hit-teams [arriving in Germany] from abroad and
radicalized lone wolves in Germany. Both threats are now very real," he added. He said that the hit-teams "are
secretly smuggled into Europe and prepare their actions without being noticed,
as we saw with the attacks in Paris and Brussels."
The minister stressed that the German security services are "working intensively" in order to "keep all potential terrorists in sight," adding that there have been
more investigations and arrests in 2016 than in the last few years. He also admitted that it is much
harder for security services to identify "radicalized lone wolves" than organized hit-teams as they "get radicalized with Islamist
propaganda in the Internet or by hate-preachers." He warned that, despite all the efforts of security services, there could be as of yet unidentified potential attackers.
One 'should not suspect all Muslims'At the same time, de Maiziere stressed that Germans
should not suspect or blame all Muslims. He also said that
Islamists are exploiting religion in "justifying" killing by Islamic beliefs. Although Islamist terrorism "has something to do with Islam," Islam "by no means carries the seeds of terrorism," the minister said, as quoted by
Der Spiegel. He also added that
most victims of terrorist attacks are actually Muslims.De Maiziere also addressed German Muslims in his interview and
called on Muslim communities to "notice if some particular persons are in the process of radicalization and take timely measures." He also urged them to distance themselves from Islamist terrorists.
The minister's comments come as a German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees advisory agency says that a
growing number of girls and young women are being radicalized in Germany. In 2015, a half of those radicalized were girls while previously they only constituted 25 percent of all cases,
Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung reported, citing data from the advisory agency. The younger girls are radicalized year-after-year, according to Michael Kiefer from the Institute of Islamic Theology of the University of Osnabrueck, who told
Der Spiegel that
"13-year-old girls are among those, who are radicalized."
This summer, Germany witnessed two major terrorist attacks. On July 24, a 27-year-old Syrian refugee, who had pledged allegiance to the leader of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL),
detonated a bomb in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, killing himself and injuring 15 people.
On 18 July 2016, a 17-year-old refugee injured five people when he
attacked passengers with a knife and hatchet on a train near Wuerzburg. Following the attacks, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the EU needs stricter border controls and special warning systems to properly process the migrant influx.
However,
Merkel still refuses to change her welcoming refugee policy that has been criticized by both her political rivals and allies. In the meantime, the right wing populist anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party (AfD) beat Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in her home state and is now represented in eight out of 16 regional parliaments.
Merkel's popularity rating continues to plunge at the same time.
Comment: Ah yes, the enemies without and within. It makes it harder to keep track, but then the whole Islamist/Muslim/Radical/Western/NATO/ME/Daesh/Moderates...et al...factions in the global community are exceedingly complicated and confusing. For individuals teetering on the edge, coming to a personal definition is necessary -- even if it is one that is diabolically opposed to a peaceful and productive society or the higher morals of mankind. Thus definitions change, mandated by circumstances or by choice, often by fear and manipulation -- rarely for better, mostly for worse.