Islamists continue to constitute by far the biggest group of people threatening security in Germany despite people who practice Islam being a small minority in the country. In August, the Federal Criminal Police Office registered 554 people in connection with “Politically motivated crime – religious ideology” (PMK category), according to a response from the federal government to a request from the Free Democratic Party (FDP).
In addition, there were also 527 so-called people of concern. While the number of people at risk decreased compared to a year ago, the number of “relevant people” increased slightly.
People who are at risk are expected to carry out a serious or state-endangering crime at any time. Security authorities refer to people who have a leadership role or the function of a supporter or actor within a terrorist or extremist group as relevant.
The number of left-wing extremists is increasing
At the same time, the security services had 72 people in their sights as threats in the PMK right category. 181 right-wing extremists were classified as relevant persons. Their number remained almost constant.
However, the number of left-wing extremists has increased significantly, from five to nine. The number of relevant people remained constant at 77.
The federal government continues to rate the threat posed by an Islamist terrorist attack as high.
“Germany continues to be in the immediate target spectrum of international terrorist organizations. A persistently high risk of jihadist-motivated acts of violence is still to be expected,“ said a response from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to an AfD inquiry in June. At the same time, the letter revealed that around a quarter of the Islamist threats and relevant persons had applied for asylum.
