Young Muslims in Germany feel left out of Mideast debate, experts say
Islamist influencers have recently struggled to get their message across to young people in Germany, according to experts at the Association for the Prevention of Islamism and the Promotion of Democracy (KN:IX connect).
KN:IX connect seeks to prevent young people from drifting into Islamist circles and to help those who wish to leave them.
Global crises such as the Middle East conflict have acted as a catalyst, said Jamuna Oehlmann, executive director of the Federal Task Force on Religiously Motivated Extremism. However, she adds that “how these crises are handled here” is also crucial.
Narrow speech
In Germany, “the discourse was different from that in other countries”, underlines Oehlmann.
As a result, Muslims, and particularly those of Palestinian origin directly affected by the war in Gaza, often felt that their views were not heard.
Islamist actors have skillfully exploited this phenomenon, as well as the way politicians tend to talk about migration and Islamism in general terms, and used it for their own ends. Some then attracted young people by claiming that only they understood them.
Complex subject
Teaching complex topics such as the Middle East conflict requires methodological knowledge and sufficient time, said Friederike Müller, who has experience in violence and Islamism prevention programs in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Many people of Palestinian origin in the Ruhr region were criminalized for participating in protests and labeled as suspected anti-Semites, even if they only wanted to express their grief and desire to end the war in Gaza, she claimed.
