The Terrorism Threat Remains High: Has the Number of Dangerous Islamists in Germany Decreased?
As terrorist threats increase in Europe, German media have reported that the number of Islamists, classified by the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany as security risks, has slightly decreased.
A spokesperson for the office stated to the newspapers of the German media network “Deutschland” that as of August 1, 472 Islamists were classified as security risks for religious motives. Among them, 96 are currently imprisoned in Germany, 208 are at large within Germany, and 168 are abroad.
In 2023, this group numbered 483 individuals, and in 2022, 520 individuals. A curve from the Federal Criminal Police Office for the period 2014-2024 shows that their numbers have been declining for several years. An attack foiled by Austrian authorities targeting a concert by American singer Taylor Swift in Vienna also highlighted the threat situation in Germany.
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German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told newspapers from the German media group “Funke”, reported by Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper: “The ongoing investigations in Vienna demonstrate the seriousness with which the threat of Islamist terrorism in Europe is being addressed. Our security authorities are in close contact with the Austrian authorities.” Regarding Germany, Faeser added: “The threat from Islamist terrorism remains high in Germany as well.”
Meanwhile, a senior official from the Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany stated that Germany remains targeted by various terrorist organizations.
Sven Kurenbach, head of the “Terrorism and Extremism Motivated by Islam” division, told the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Some say: ISIS is back, but I prefer to say: ISIS never left… We have also recorded an increase in warnings about risks related to ISIS over the past two years.”
According to Kurenbach’s data, security authorities have been monitoring since 2022 that ISIS in Khorasan Province, a branch of ISIS, is increasingly seeking to pursue an international agenda. Kurenbach added: “At the same time – due to the Russian aggression – we now have more permeable borders to the east, and this way, people from Central Asia are coming to us, and we suspect they have links with ISIS in Khorasan Province.”
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Regarding the 19-year-old ISIS sympathizer who wanted – in his own words – to cause a bloodbath at American singer Taylor Swift’s concert in Austria, Kurenbach spoke of increased online radicalization, noting that terrorist organizations spread their propaganda on a variety of social media channels and platforms, which also target this group of individuals. He said: “The perpetrators, some of whom are young, are often not ideologically stable, as we observed a few years ago.”
The security expert confirmed that the terrorist threat in Germany has not changed, adding: “We have long been talking about a (serious latent danger) for Germany… That is why security authorities at the federal and state levels have been aware of this for a long time, and these authorities investigate every signal to prevent an attack.”
