A 26-year-old kills three people and injures eight in Solingen – a suspected Islamist attack. Why do people fall into extremism and how can you bring them back?
According to an extremism expert at the Federal Office for Migration (Bamf), radicalization cannot be determined solely by a person’s social or cultural background. “It is a classic phenomenon affecting society as a whole,” said Florian Endres, head of the Bamf’s Extremism Advisory Center, to the German Press Agency. The advisory center’s research and experience show that there are always so-called windows in radicalized people – “which open up due to personal circumstances, life crises, crises of meaning, professional problems, family problems that these people cannot overcome on their own.” This phenomenon occurs in both Muslim and non-Muslim families.
Endres spoke out after the suspected Islamist attack in Solingen, but did not want to refer to the individual case. On Friday, a 26-year-old Syrian killed three people with a knife and injured eight others in Solingen.
What promotes radicalization?
Although most people experience life crises at some point, not everyone is able to protect themselves from extremist ideas in such times. “They are therefore receptive to structures that give them a supposedly relatively easy explanation for this situation and, of course, also show them a way out.”
According to Endres, psychological abnormalities have also played an increasing role in radicalization in recent years. “Refugees, for example, can suffer from trauma that arose during their flight,” said the expert. But there are also cases of people who were born and grew up in Germany and in whom psychosis or depression are linked to radicalization.
How does the path to extremism begin?
Initially, the radicalization process manifests itself in a newly defined role. “They see themselves as the ‘elite’ of Islam,” explained Endres. “Only they interpret Islam as the Prophet and his direct descendants intended. Ultimately, it’s about improving their own status.”
At the beginning, this new role can also be accompanied by positive developments. According to Endres, this includes fewer problems with alcohol, parties or the police. “As radicalization progresses, conflicts with the social environment increase.” For family and friends, unusual contacts in mosques or on social networks are often the first warning signs.
Winning people back
The Extremism Advisory Center at the BAMF has been in existence since 2012 and offers a hotline for such cases. People can call this hotline if they fear that someone in their environment is becoming radicalized. In some cases, the advisors try to intervene themselves.
“There are discussions with the family, with the school, with the employer, with relatives, with friends, whatever. The counseling centers then analyze how we can reach the person.” The specially trained exit counselors try to find solutions quickly in more critical cases together with the social environment. “This works very well across the country,” said Endres.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
