Salafism in Germany

The fear of militant Islamist is growing in­creasingly virulent in Germany. People are casting a concerned eye on Jihadist returnees from Syria or Iraq who pose a se­rious threat to public life in Ger­many. Large-scale public events in Dresden, Braunschweig and Frankfurt am Main have been called off due to a fear of attacks. At the same time, how­ever, concern has also been growing in re­gards to a rapidly expanding Salafist movement in Germany and its fun­damentalist ideology. These sorts of social uncertainties have placed pressures on decision-makers to adequately counter them on all political and administrative levels and within civil society. 

Existing research, clarification and knowledge transfers

The re­search project “Salafism in Germany” pursues two goals: First, it identifies existing research on the issue areas in terms of data and its accessi­bility, forms of organization and recruitment, the moti­vation and careers of salafi-Jihadists, justification narratives of salafi-Jihadism, trans­national dimensions of Salafist networks, and lessons learned from prevention and de-radicalization ini­tiatives. The team based at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt co­ordinates cooperation among relevant experts from research hubs all across Germany. Second, the project identifies the ex­isting demand for con­sultation within politics, administration and society and develops appropriate instruments for knowledge-transfer. It aims to contribute to a better understanding of Salafism and Jiha­dism in Germany and also to the development of research-based instruments for policy consulting in these areas. The re­sults from this research will be presented by way of individual studies, in an edi­ted volume published by the Campus-Verlag, and at two events hosted by the German Foun­dation for Peace Research in Berlin in April 2016.