Islam-based extremism

Islam-based extremism has been a constant phenomenon in Germany for several decades. However, the number of people joining is also dependent on political events and has increased again, for example, following the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 and the subsequent wars in Gaza and Lebanon. But what exactly does this term mean?

A multitude of movements, organizations and actors

Islamism, Salafism, Jihadism, religiously based extremism - in recent years, due in part to the increasing preventative work in this area in response to the spread of the so-called 'Islamic State' and its recruitment among young Europeans, various terms have been used to describe different phenomena. Islamism and Islam-based extremism can be understood as container terms, whereby the term Islamism is rejected by many Muslims. The fact that different ideologies are addressed - such as Wahabism and Salafism - which do not necessarily go hand in hand with terrorism, also contributes to the confusion of terms. Depending on the context, “political Islam” in turn is understood as an umbrella term for various currents of criticism of a Western world order in the form of states and secular rule; however, it is also often used to brand any Muslim desire for political change as being directed against the free democratic basic order. On the other hand, a number of terms can be found - such as the division into quietist, legalist and jihadist Salafism, which is still used by security authorities and the prevention landscape - which are intended to determine the degree of political opposition to democratic states and the willingness to use violence.

The term “Islam-based extremism” therefore covers a number of very different organizations and actors. These include various Salafists, Hezbollah from Lebanon, Hamas from the Gaza Strip, the transnationally active Hizb ut-Tahrir, the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Qaeda and the so-called “Islamic State” and its various offshoots. What they all have in common is the idea of a single, true Islam, which they hope to revive and keep pure in order to increase the political power of the Islamic world. For them, this also goes hand in hand with the rejection of secular, non-Islamically legitimized rule. In this view, Islam is more than spirituality. It should not only provide rules for the practice of faith, but for life as a whole. Accordingly, secular concepts of the state are rejected. In concrete terms, this means the abolition of the separation of religion and (state) authority. All of life is regulated by the commandments in the Koran and Sunnah, from family life to criminal law.

Rejection of secular nation states and democratic constitutions

Such convictions bring representatives of Islam-based extremism into opposition to democratic states. Most Islamist organizations are striving for a global caliphate and are thus positioning themselves against a nation-state based world. However, it can be observed that those Islamist parties that run in parliamentary elections in Arab states (for example the Ennahda party in Tunisia and the Al-Nour party in Egypt), as well as those organizations that exercise de facto power in a state or region (such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or Hamas in the Gaza Strip) are moving away from the idea of a caliphate - and are often criticized for this by other Islamists. In most Arab states, the relevant Islamist organizations (including Hizb ut-Tahrir, Al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood) are banned, just as they are in Europe, and are monitored by the state.

The various theoretical currents and sub-currents of Islamism are simultaneously in opposition to the ideas of classical Islam. This applies in particular to the practice of Islamic law. Contrary to popular belief in Europe, Sharia law is not actually a fixed set of rules, but rather a practice of jurisprudence that draws on various sources of law and is interpreted differently depending on the region and school of law. For most Islamist groups, however, this already represents an arrogance towards God's revelation. In addition, the practice of “takfir”, i.e. the attempt to declare other Muslims infidels, is widespread in Islamism. This also gives rise to strategic debates about whether to fight the “internal” (their own state or rival Islamic groups) or the “external enemy” (USA, Western Europe) first.

Anti-feminism, queerphobia, conspiracy narratives and anti-Semitism

Islamist organizations are therefore characterized by:

• The idea of Islam-legitimized and Islam-influenced rule, which is linked to the differentiation from the idea of secular nation states.
• The idea of a true, pure Islam that returns to its former greatness and is binding for all people. This also includes the rejection of diversity in Islam and its various manifestations.

On the one hand, this results in anti-feminism and hostility towards queers: the equal rights of women, various models of relationships and gender identities are seen as a moral decline of “the West” in Islamist extremism. To varying degrees, conspiracy narratives and anti-Semitism are also widespread in Islamism: The starting point for this is regularly the idea of a fight against “crusaders and Zionists”, but also against a Jewish or Zionist “world conspiracy”. Racism, on the other hand, is rejected and the caliphate is imagined as a society in which skin color and origin play no role. Islamist actors in Western society in particular use racism as a central theme to mobilize and win people over. In fact, this self-portrayal as anti-racist makes Islamism attractive to potential supporters: experiences of everyday racism are a key push factor. This is all the more alarming given that anti-Muslim racism in particular has steadily increased in Germany in recent years. However, Islamist societies are usually not at all anti-racist, as various reports on the so-called “Islamic State”, for example, suggest.

Highly insecure young people are particularly at risk

In order to spread their ideas and gain influence, various actors, including in Germany, rely primarily on dissemination and advertising (“Da'wa”, or invitation) and less often on violence (for example in the form of terrorist attacks or attacks on individuals or institutions). The messages of Islam-based extremism are now spread primarily via various social media channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, but also via so-called nashid rap as well as games and gaming-related platforms. This approach is intended to reach young people in particular, who are repeatedly named as an important target group. However, the concept of “youth” as a phase of rebellion and experimentation is often rejected as un-Islamic.

Young people are therefore also an important target group for prevention work. The reasons for turning towards islam-based extremism are as varied as the young people themselves. It is also important to take gender-specific factors into account. However, it is not (strictly) religious young people who are particularly at risk, but rather highly insecure young people who are looking for support, a sense of belonging and a purpose in life.

In various projects, Cultures Interactive has dealt in particular with gender-specific factors - especially with regard to girls and young women - as well as the use of youth cultural platforms, forms of expression and symbols by Islam-based extremism. Various projects have developed girl-specific prevention services for this phenomenon area and worked with a cross-phenomenon perspective.