A warning has been issued by the Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul, ahead of the Innenministerkonferenz in Bremerhaven, Germany. Reul expressed concerns over the resurgence of Islamic missionary activities, known as Da’wa, in the country.
According to Reul, the Salafist movement is becoming bolder, with its missionaries venturing out onto the streets and not just online. He emphasized that these individuals are not harmless YouTubers, but rather ideological arsonists. The interior minister believes that the state must respond with both firmness and prevention, including the monitoring of social media platforms and the prohibition of extremist organizations.
Reul’s warnings are echoed by Claudia Dantschke, an expert from the Beratungsstelle “Grüner Vogel”, who has observed a growing trend of Salafist missionary activities over the past few years. Dantschke noted that old and new actors in the scene are networking and that the Islamists are using fear-mongering, social division and targeted recruitment of young, vulnerable individuals in their “Islam-Seminars”.
A report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) also warns of a potential trend reversal, as the number of Salafist adherents has been declining since 2021, but the recent surge in missionary work may lead to a rejuvenation of the movement and an increase in the number of potential recruits. The interior minister and experts agree that the state must take a proactive approach to counter the growing threat of Islamic extremism in Germany.