Source: Deutsche Welle – Eye on Islamism

Germany arrests 3 suspected Hamas members Authorities said two Germans and one Lebanese national had procured weapons to be used in violent acts targeting Israeli or Jewish institutions in Germany.

October 1, 2025 Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

(Deutsche Welle) Prosecutors in Berlin said they have arrested three suspected Hamas operatives. The suspects were preparing attacks on Israeli and Jewish institutions in Germany, authorities said. Hamas has been designated a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU, the US and several governments. The three […]

German government nears deal with Taliban on deportations The German government is maintaining its tough stance on the deportation of rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan. Critics say promises made to former personnel now at risk of reprisals should be honored.

September 19, 2025 Jens Thurau

(Deutsche Welle) Despite strongly worded criticism from numerous aid organizations, the German government has now confirmed a report in the mass-circulation newspaper Bild that envoys of Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt are holding talks in Afghanistan with the ruling Islamist Taliban about deportations […]

Dresden: Man arrested after tram knife attack on US citizen A 21-year-old Syrian citizen is in investigative custody in Dresden after a young American man was stabbed in the face on a tram over the weekend in the eastern German city. New information may link him to the attack.

August 26, 2025 Mark Hallam

(Deutsche Welle) Dresden police and prosecutors said on Tuesday that they had arrested a 21-year-old Syrian in connection with a knife attack on a late-night tram in the city over the weekend. He was detained in the early hours of Tuesday, police […]

Recognizing Palestine would deepen French Muslim-Jewish rift President Emmanuel Macron's announced intention to recognize a Palestinian state has sharply divided French politicians. France's Jewish and Muslim communities also fear it could drive them even further apart.

August 1, 2025 Elizabeth Bryant

(Deutsche Welle) Mohammed Iriqat has witnessed first-hand France’s shifting stance on the crisis in the Gaza Strip, from the taunts he once received for wearing a kaffiyeh, a scarf symbolizing Palestinian solidarity, to being part of widespread protests as the devastating war in the […]

German Christmas market attacker shocks victims with letters A man charged with killing six people, and injuring hundreds more, last December wrote letters to several survivors asking forgiveness. Shocked recipients want to know how he got their addresses.

July 31, 2025 Jon Shelton

(Deutsche Welle) A 50-year-old Saudi Arabian man who rammed a rented SUV into a crowd at a Christmas market in Magdeburg last December triggered shock among survivors by writing personal letters to at least five of them asking forgiveness. The attack in the state of […]

How recent Syrian communal violence is impacting Germany Fighting between different community groups inside Syria is also causing tensions among Syrians living in Germany. After a brawl on the streets in Dusseldorf, some fear more unrest here.

July 29, 2025 Cathrin Schaer

(Deutsche Welle) Nobody ever used to ask Hassan which sect he belonged to. The 32-year-old Syrian has been in Germany since 2015, having fled after taking part in his country’s civil war on the side of anti-government forces. But now they do. […]

German-Afghan relations under scrutiny over deportations The German government's policy of deporting Afghan criminals to Afghanistan relies on cooperation with the Taliban government in Kabul. The Islamists are hoping this is the first step toward diplomatic recognition.

July 24, 2025 Marcel Fürstenau

(Deutsche Welle) “We have succeeded in organizing another deportation flight with convicted criminals to Afghanistan,” German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said in a press release on July 18, following the departure of a plane from Leipzig to Kabul with 81 Afghan men with […]

Germany urged to clarify refugee policy for Palestinians After having just lifted a controversial 18-month freeze on asylum rulings, Germany is being pressed to grant full refugee status to Palestinians as Israel's actions in Gaza claim ever more civilian casualties.

July 24, 2025 Julie Gregson

(Deutsche Welle) Shafiq* is a Palestinian man who ended up in limbo after he managed to get out of Gaza and make his way via Egypt and Turkey to Germany, where he applied for asylum. The right to asylum is enshrined in […]

German Cabinet approves stricter asylum measures The German government has proposed several new measures as it pushes on with plans to further curb irregular migration. This comes despite a legal setback this week when a court ruled pushbacks at the border unlawful.

June 4, 2025 Timothy Jones

(Deutsche Welle) The German Cabinet on Wednesday approved several measures to tighten Germany’s asylum laws, including a plan to make it easier to determine “safe countries of origin” and thus to deport rejected asylum-seekers. This comes after another policy put in place […]

Syrian man pleads guilty to Solingen knife attack A 27-year-old Syrian man accused of killing three people in a knife attack last year has pleaded guilty as his trial begins.

May 27, 2025 Timothy Jones

(Deutsche Welle) A Syrian man who allegedly knifed three people to death at a street festival in the western city of Solingen last August entered a guilty plea as his trial began in Düsseldorf on Tuesday. Issa Al H., 27, told the […]

Russians suspected of supporting IS on trial in Germany The trial of four Russian nationals accused of being part of the extremist 'Islamic State' begins in Hamburg on Monday. The suspects allegedly collected around €174,000 to send to IS members held in camps in Syria.

May 26, 2025 Jens Thurau

(Deutsche Welle) The charges against the four defendants, all Russian nationals, are serious. Appearing at the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court in Hamburg on Monday, they will be facing accusations of being members of a foreign criminal organization and of supporting a foreign terrorist […]

Germany: Solingen knife attack trial set to begin The trial of a Syrian man accused of killing three people in a knife attack in the western city of Solingen last August has brought Germany's asylum policies and security loopholes into focus.

May 26, 2025 Ralf Bosen

(Deutsche Welle) The man accused of a mass stabbing at a festival in the western German city of Solingen is due to face court in the North Rhine-Westphalia capital of Dusseldorf. Federal prosecutors have charged Syrian Issa Al H. with three counts […]

Germany turns first asylum seekers away at border — report In the two days since the new German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz tightened border controls, 19 people who had applied for asylum have reportedly been turned away.

May 11, 2025 Nik Martin

(Deutsche Welle) Germany has begun rejecting asylum seekers at its borders with other European countries, the first such action since the new government tightened immigration, a German newspaper reported Sunday. On Thursday and Friday, out of 365 undocumented entries at all borders, 286 migrants and […]

Denmark: Trial for Quran burning kicks off in Bornholm In December 2023, Denmark introduced a law banning 'improper treatment' of religious texts. Two people are now to face trial on the Danish island of Bornholm.

May 8, 2025 Thomas Latschan

(Deutsche Welle) This Friday, many eyes will be on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea, for a historic trial: Two men are accused of “improper treatment of a religious scripture.” They are accused of having burned a copy of the […]

Germany could withdraw citizenship due to ‘antisemitism’ 'Terror supporters, antisemites and extremists' could have their German citizenship revoked — if they hold a second nationality, according to planning documents. Critics of the move say it will lead to unequal treatment.

April 1, 2025 Sarah Judith Hofmann

(Deutsche Welle) The ongoing coalition negotiations between the conservatives of the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) are said to have been riddled with heated arguments — sometimes to the point of doors […]

Islamic State terror threats overshadow German Carnival Ahead of Carnival celebrations kicking off in Germany on Thursday, the Islamic State militant group called for attacks targeting revellers in Cologne.

February 26, 2025 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) Islamists suspected of belonging to so-called Islamic State (IS) have used social networks to call for attacks — including on Cologne’s Carnival celebration, which kicks off with Fat Thursday (Wieberfastnacht). They named specific locations within Cologne, a city in western Germany […]

Germany: 2 injured in Munich car ramming die A mother and her two-year-old died due to their injuries. Prosecutors had said they believed the suspect had an 'Islamist motive.'

February 15, 2025 Saim Dušan Inayatullah

(Deutsche Welle) A 37-year-old woman and her two-year-old daughter have died two days after they were injured in a car ramming in the southern German city of Munich, officials said on Saturday. Authorities earlier said that at least 39 people were injured in the Thursday attack, in which […]

Munich car ramming attack by Afghan man heats migrant debate Police said the man from Afghanistan who allegedly drove his car into a crowd of people in Munich was motivated by Islamism.

February 14, 2025 Volker Witting, Peter Hille and Ralf Bosen

(Deutsche Welle) On Thursday morning, a young man drove his car into a crowd of demonstrators in the center of Munich. The suspected perpetrator was named by police as 24-year-old Farhad N., an asylum-seeker from Afghanistan. He was arrested at the scene and, […]

Immigration: German voters want to accept fewer refugees A majority of Germans believe the country should accept fewer refugees, according to the latest Deutschlandtrend poll. However, most are in favor of EU-wide solutions and are against their country 'going it alone.'

January 31, 2025 Sabine Kinkartz

(Deutsche Welle) The date January 29, 2025, will be remembered for a long time in Germany. It was the day the conservative group comprising the Christian Democratic Union and Christian Social Union, the largest opposition force in the Bundestag, put forward a […]

US: Tahawwur Rana can be sent to India over Mumbai attack The US Supreme Court denied a plea by Tahawwur Rana, clearing way for his extradition to India where he is expected to face trial over the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

January 25, 2025 Tanika Godbole and Dmytro Hubenko

(Deutsche Welle) The US Supreme Court cleared the extradition of terror convict Tahawwur Rana, who is wanted by India. The Canadian national of Pakistani origin is wanted by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks […]

Arab Americans eye Trump’s pro-Israel government picks As Donald Trump prepares to take office amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Arab Americans are considering the legacy of his past policies and staunch support for Israel — and how that could affect US policy.

January 1, 2025 Janelle Dumalaon

(Deutsche Welle) It has been several weeks now, but Wasel Yousaf has photos on his phone to help him relive the memory of meeting his idol. “He made a joke about how tightly I was shaking his hand,” Yousaf said, looking at […]

Security questions over Christmas market attack in Magdeburg The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg has raised questions about public safety and intelligence gaps in Germany. Police have described the suspect as 'atypical,' while experts have also blamed social media.

December 22, 2024 Ben Knight

(Deutsche Welle) German security forces faced a series of difficult questions at Saturday’s press conference in Magdeburg. Friday night’s attack, in which Talib A.*, a 50-year-old Saudi man, rammed a car into a crowd at a busy Christmas market in the Saxony-Anhalt […]

Pretrial detention for Magdeburg Christmas market suspect A court in Magdeburg has approved a pretrial detention warrant for the suspect in Friday's Christmas market attack. The 50-year-old faces five homicide charges, among other counts.

December 22, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Magdeburg police said in the early hours of Sunday that the suspect in the Christmas market car attack in the city on Friday night had been issued a warrant for pretrial detention. Magdeburg’s district court approved an appeal from the […]

Germany’s Faeser calls for ‘vigilance’ at Christmas markets German security authorities said that while there were no indications of a 'concrete' threat, the country's popular Christmas markets could be a target for Islamist terrorist groups.

November 28, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on Thursday called for “great vigilance” at Germany’s popular Christmas markets. However, she stressed that there was no “concrete” evidence of a threat. What did Faeser say about the threat to Christmas markets? Faeser said […]

German trial opens over alleged Islamist Sweden attack plot Two men with Afghan citizenship are accused of plotting an attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. They hatched the plot amid uproar in parts of the Muslim world over two protests involving Quran burning.

November 15, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A trial opens in Jena in the eastern German state of Thuringia on Friday against two men with Afghan citizenship accused of plotting a terrorist attack near the Swedish parliament in Stockholm. What are the pair accused of? One of the […]

Germany: Police arrest man over Israeli Embassy attack plot Police have arrested a man suspected of links to the 'Islamic State' group and planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy. Prosecutors say he had been planning to attack the diplomatic mission using firearms.

October 20, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A Libyan man with alleged ties to the “Islamic State” (IS) militant group was set to appear before Germany’s highest court on Sunday, charged with planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. The man was detained on Saturday in […]

The teenage terrorists of the ‘Islamic State’ The number of teenagers arrested on terrorism charges is growing in Europe. How is the extremist 'Islamic State' group, with branches in Africa and Afghanistan, convincing European teens to attack its enemies?

September 11, 2024 Cathrin Schaer

(Deutsche Welle) The Austrian teenager who was shot dead last week after firing a vintage rifle at German police in Munich is thought to have been influenced by Islamist extremism. But 18-year-old Emrah I., from a small town in the Salzburg region, hardly attended […]

Germany and Europe are once again ‘Islamic State’ targets The Solingen knife attack has sparked renewed concerns about 'Islamic State' targeting Germany and Europe. Experts warn of a new wave of IS-linked violence driven by Middle East conflicts.

August 27, 2024 Christoph Hasselbach

(Deutsche Welle) The so-called “Islamic State” (IS) extremist group has claimed responsibility for the knife attack in Solingen. According to Amaq, the mouthpiece of IS, the attack was carried out in “revenge for Muslims in Palestine and elsewhere” and targeted a “group […]

Germany: Solingen attack suspect named, remanded in custody A Syrian man accused of killing three people in Solingen, Germany, has been remanded in custody. Authorities link him to the 'Islamic State' group.

August 25, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German prosecutors on Sunday released the name of the 26-year-old Syrian man suspected of a multiple stabbing attack in the western city of Solingen that killed three people and injured eight others. Issa Al H., who was identified without his family name due […]

Germany: Several killed in stabbing at Solingen street party Police have launched a manhunt after a man killed three people and seriously injured five more with a knife. The attack took place as the city of Solingen was celebrating its 650th anniversary.

August 23, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Three people were killed and five seriously injured in a knife attack in the western German city of Solingen on Friday. Police said they had launched a “major operation to find the suspect, who escaped in the turmoil and panic that initially […]

Germany: Islamist terror poses ‘persistently high’ risk German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has warned that Germany remains a target for Islamist terrorists. Her comments follow the cancellation of three Austrian concerts by US pop star Taylor Swift.

August 12, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German security officials on Monday said the threat of Islamist terrorism in the country remains high, with several groups seeking to radicalize recruits amid turmoil in the Middle East. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said German intelligence services were in “very […]

Is Islamist radicalization returning to the Western Balkans? The recent crossbow attack on a Serbian police officer guarding the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade has stoked fears that the Israel-Hamas war could trigger a wave of radicalization in the region. Are these fears justified?

July 19, 2024 Claudia Mende

(Deutsche Welle) The Islam practiced in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Sandzak region in southwestern Serbia is considered open-minded and tolerant. For centuries, Sunni Muslims have lived their own form of a European Islam here alongside Christians and Jews. Since the 1990s, however, this […]

German lay judge challenges a headscarf ban in court A German Muslim woman has been barred from working as a lay judge because she wears a headscarf which was alleged to be in violation of the requirement of neutrality. The matter is now before the constitutional court.

July 13, 2024 Marcel Fürstenau

(Deutsche Welle) In 2015, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled against a general headscarf ban for teachers, saying that such a ban was incompatible with the freedom of religion guaranteed in the German Constitution. Nine years later, the same court is again addressing […]

Mainz wrong to sack El Ghazi over Gaza comments, court rules Bundesliga club Mainz sacked Anwar El Ghazi after the player issued a pair of social media posts on the war in Gaza. A German labor court has sided with the player, ordering the club to reimburse his lost income.

July 12, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Football club Mainz 05 did not have good reason to sack Dutch footballer Anwar El Ghazi for his comments about the war in Gaza, Mainz’s labor court ruled on Friday. The court found that El Ghazi’s comments on social media […]

Germany, Sweden arrest 8 over suspected war crimes in Syria German authorities have said the men are suspected of killing civilians during Syria's civil war. Swedish officials have also made arrests over suspected crimes against humanity committed in Syria.

July 3, 2024 Kieran Burke

(Deutsche Welle) German and Swedish authorities on Wednesday said they arrested eight men suspected of committing crimes against humanity in Syria. Germany’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that four stateless Syrian Palestinians and a Syrian national are “strongly suspected of killing […]

German court sentences teen over Christmas terror plot A German court has handed a four-year custodial sentence to a defendant for planning a terror attack on a Christmas market.

June 28, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A regional court in the western German city of Cologne on Friday sentenced a 15-year-old to four years in youth custody for planning an attack on a Christmas market in the nearby city of Leverkusen. The court found that the […]

Germany: Police shoot man dead after Euro 2024 party attack A man went on the rampage in Wolmirstedt, in eastern Saxony-Anhalt state, killing another man and stabbing people at a private football party. The assailant was later shot dead by the police.

June 15, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A man attacked several people in the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt, including at a private party to mark the opening of the Euro 2024 soccer tournament, before he was shot and killed by the police. German police said Saturday that […]

Suspected IS supporter arrested at Cologne airport The suspect allegedly supported an offshoot of the Islamic State. He also reportedly unsuccessfully applied to work at Euro 2024-related events.

June 9, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A suspected supporter of the Islamic State (IS) was arrested a week before the start of the UEFA European football championship in Germany, the Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office said Sunday. According to a spokesperson for the Karlsruhe authority, the suspect […]

Germany debates deportations to Afghanistan, Syria A deadly knife attack that killed a police officer has triggered demands to allow deportations to Afghanistan. Anti-immigration rhetoric is being stepped up ahead of the elections for the European Parliament.

June 7, 2024 Jens Thurau

(Deutsche Welle) Colleagues, family and politicians converged on the city square in Mannheim on Friday to remember the young policeman who sustained deadly injuries one week ago. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier laid flowers. A 25-year-old man originally from Afghanistan, who is married […]

Mannheim knife attack: Authorities suspect Islamist motive German federal prosecutors have begun investigating a knife attack which left a police officer dead in Mannheim. On Monday, thousands of people gathered in the southwestern German city to pay their respects.

June 4, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German authorities say they believe there was an Islamist motive behind a knife attack at an anti-Islam rally in the southwestern German city of Mannheim on Friday during which a police officer was killed. The federal prosecutor, Germany’s highest prosecuting authority […]

German police raid pro-Palestinian group in Duisburg The German state of North Rhine-Westphalia has banned the group Palestine Solidarity Duisburg over alleged antisemitism and support for Hamas.

May 16, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German police in the western city of Duisburg carried out raids on [Thursday] on four properties linked to a pro-Palestinian group over its alleged support for Hamas. The interior ministry of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Germany’s most populated state where the city is […]

Germany: Man jailed for life for train knife attack A 34-year-old man has been given the toughest penalty in German law after attacking people with a knife on a train in 2023, killing two and wounding four others. The defense argued he should be put in psychiatric care.

May 15, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A court in Itzehoe on Wednesday sentenced a 34-year-old man to life in prison for killing two people and stabbing several others on a local train in northern Germany last January. A 17-year-old and her 19-year-old boyfriend were killed in the […]

Caliphate protests in Hamburg: What is Muslim Interactive? The relatively new organization Muslim Interactive has shocked the public with calls for a caliphate. Experts believe the movement is identitarian.

May 11, 2024 Lisa Hänel

(Deutsche Welle) It’s estimated that some 1,000 people gathered at Hamburg’s popular street Steindamm late April, following a call to protests by an organization called Muslim Interactive (MI). Some demonstrators chanted “God is great,” and held up signs that read “caliphate is […]

Hamburg ‘caliphate’ rally prompts calls for punishment German politicians have called for action after reports of a rally in which speakers demanded Shariah law in Germany. A leading Bavarian conservative said such appeals should lead to jail time and citizenship removal.

May 1, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A top Bavarian politician on Wednesday demanded tougher consequences for people advocating for Germany to become a “caliphate,” saying they should face prison terms and lose citizenship. Alexander Dobrindt, who heads Bavaria’s conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) in Germany’s Bundestag, […]

Muslims in the German military to get their own chaplaincy Bundeswehr soldiers of Islamic faith have long lacked the pastoral care available to their Christian and, as of recent years, Jewish counterparts. What was once seen as politically impossible is about to change.

April 1, 2024 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) As the parliamentary commissioner for the German armed forces, or Bundeswehr, Eva Högl is responsible for ensuring that the issues and needs of German soldiers get heard. In mid-March, Högl presented her third annual report in her role as commissioner […]

Germany detains two IS suspects over Swedish attack plan German police have arrested two suspected Islamists for allegedly planning a firearms attack near the Swedish parliament.

March 19, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday said two suspected supporters of the so-called “Islamic State” (IS) jihadist militia had been arrested in the central German state of Thuringia. Prosecutors allege that the two Afghan nationals had hatched a plot to carry out an attack […]

Germany: ‘DAVA’ party woos voters with Turkish roots Fighting Islamophobia and strengthening 'traditional values' are core issues in the election program with which DAVA reaches out to Muslim migrants in Germany. Is Turkish President Recep Erdogan behind the movement?

February 7, 2024 Elmas Topcu

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s newly founded “Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening” (DAVA) is currently a voters’ association, but it intends to run as a party in the European elections on June 9. This announcement in January triggered a heated debate in Germany, […]

Germany trains new generation of Muslim leaders In a groundbreaking move, Germany trains its own Muslim religious leaders, fostering a deeper connection with local communities. Muslim associations across the country are seeing a generational change and reorientation.

January 21, 2024 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) Osman Soyer is a religious affairs officer who was sworn into office this month in the Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin’s Neukölln district. He is one of 28 young men and women who have been trained as “religious representatives” by DITIB, […]

Germany seeks Cologne Cathedral attack suspect’s deportation Authorities are seeking to expel the 25-year-old arrested on suspicion of planning a New Year's Eve attack on the historic cathedral. The Tajik national was arrested along with three others, but they were later released.

January 13, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German police said Saturday that they are pressing forward with deportation proceedings for a young man accused of planning a New Year’s Eve terror attack on Cologne Cathedral. The Dortmund District Court had granted a deportation warrant for the 25-year-old […]

Cologne Cathedral attack: Austria issues warrant for suspect Austrian authorities want to speak to a man being held in connection with a year-end terrorist plot targeting Cologne Cathedral.

January 7, 2024 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Austrian authorities have issued a European arrest warrant for a suspect detained in Germany over an alleged plot to attack the historic cathedral in Cologne, German police said on Sunday. On Christmas Eve, a 30-year-old Tajik national was held in the city of Wesel, […]