The situation is not encouraging: according to media reports, the number of Salafists (followers of the radical trend in Islam) in Germany grew by 850 people (up to 12,150) last year. Since 2011, their number has more than tripled, according to Berlin’s Tagesspiegel, citing security officials.
In Berlin alone, this number increased by one hundred people (up to 1120). In the North Rhine-Westphalia, the number of Salafis has also increased to 3,200, the newspaper said. Even the growth dynamics has seriously increased in comparison with the results from 2017 to 2018. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution noted an increase of only 500 Salafists.
The Office for the Defense of the Constitution defines Salafism as “a fundamental Islamist ideology.” Political Salafism in principle does not preclude violence legitimized by religion.