by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
At long last, Muslim antisemitism in Germany has been officially detailed for the public.
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Antisemitic, pro-Palestinian demonstration in Berlin, July 17, 2014, photo by Boris Niehaus via Wikipedia
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BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,158, April 30, 2019
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The
German Agency for Domestic Security recently published a report on
Muslim antisemitism in the country – a development that is unprecedented
not only for Germany but for all of Europe. The report makes clear that
Muslim antisemitism is a major problem in Germany. At long last, Muslim antisemitism in Germany has been officially detailed for the public.
The German Agency for Domestic Security (Bundesamt fuer Verfassungsschutz)
recently published a 40-page report entitled “Antisemitism in
Islamism.” Never before has any European intelligence agency published a
report on Muslim antisemitism. This report is a major break with the
German past. It is the first official publication by a national body
that exposes in reasonable detail the antisemitism originating in parts
of the country’s Muslim community.
The report’s title doesn’t quite reflect its
content. It was likely considered unacceptable – from a political
correctness point of view – to give the report the more accurate title
“Antisemitism and Islam.” In many (not all) of the quotes below, the
word “Islamist” should be replaced by the word “Muslim.”
The report defines Islamism as a form of political
extremism among Muslims that aims to eliminate democracy. Antisemitism
is one of its essential ideological elements.
Many Muslims are not antisemitic, but the
antisemitism problem in Islam is far from limited to people with extreme
political views or even to religious Muslims. The report notes that
many incidents have been caused by individuals “about whom until then no
[connections] were [indicated] to organized Islamism.” Islamism was
probably not the direct cause behind a substantial number of incidents.
Just a year and a half ago, speaking of Muslim
antisemitism was taboo in Germany and was certainly never to be
mentioned by politicians. This was despite the fact that it was
generally known that major antisemitic incidents had been perpetrated by
Muslims in the country.
The document starts by stating that for historical
reasons, and in view of the country’s experience with National
Socialism, antisemitic positions were viewed for a long time as being
inevitably related to right-wing antisemitism. Only gradually in the
current century has it become clear that right-wing extremists do not
hold a monopoly on antisemitism in Germany. The report states that a
pattern of common, “daily” antisemitism is widespread in the social and
political center of German society. In addition, anti-Zionism and
antisemitism exist among leftist extremists.
The authors state that antisemitic opinions in
Islamism are even more far-reaching. Religious, territorial, and
political motives combine into an antisemitic worldview. All Islamist
groups have as a central pillar a picture of Judaism as the enemy.
The report states that the arrival of more than a
million Muslims in Germany between 2014 and 2017 increased the influence
of Islamist antisemitism inside the country. It cites Anti-Defamation
League statistics of antisemitism among the populations of states in the
Middle East and North Africa. In that region, Turkey – a country from
which many Muslims now living in Germany originated – is one of the
least antisemitic countries, yet even it is “nearly 70%” antisemitic.
The study mentions that many children in these countries are raised with
a steady diet of antisemitic indoctrination.
Like other studies, the report sees a turning
point in German awareness of Islamist antisemitism in a demonstration
that took place in Berlin in 2017. At that demonstration, placards were
carried demanding the destruction of Israel. An Israeli flag was set on
fire. The report notes that extremist acts were initiated by people who
were unknown to have had any prior relationship with Islamist
organizations – a fact that has probably never before been published.
The burning of the Israeli flag shocked Germans
because of the association with the far more severe book burnings of
1933, which were encouraged by the German National Socialist government
at the time. The video of the flag-burning went viral, prompting a
number of brief comments by leading politicians. German president and
Social Democrat Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the responsibility of
Germany for its history knows “no limits for those who were born later,
and no exceptions for immigrants.” He added, “This is not negotiable for
all those who live in Germany and want to live here.” Jens Spahn, a
board member of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democrat Union (CDU), who
has since become Germany’s Minister of Health, remarked that the mass
immigration from Muslim countries was the reason for the demonstrations
in Germany. Stephan Harbarth, Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU faction in
the Bundestag (the German parliament), said, “We have to strongly
confront the antisemitism of migrants with an Arab background and those
from African countries.”
The study states that it is crucial to counteract
the spread of extreme antisemitism among Muslims in Germany. This will
require a greater awareness of the problem in the public domain. That
should include teachers, social workers, the police, and employees of
the government office for migration and refugees, as well as relevant
officials in Germany’s federal states.
The authors also note that the way Islamists
interpret Islam is contrary to the basic elements of the German
constitution concerning the sovereignty of citizens, the separation of
state and religion, freedom of expression, and the general equality of
all citizens. This is why German intelligence services monitor the
activities of Islamist organizations.
The report lists major antisemitic expressions of
Islamist antisemitism, such as: “Jews control finance and the economy,”
“Jews operate with the help of secret agents and organizations,” and
“there is an eternal battle between Muslims and Jews.” The report also
names various extremist Muslim organizations that are active in Germany.
They include the local Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, Hizb
Ut-Tahrir, ISIS, the Turkish Milli Görus, and Salafists.
The long-overdue study concludes that the more
than 100 antisemitic incidents officially caused by Muslims in 2017 are
most likely only the tip of the iceberg.
Shortly after the above document was released, a 178-page report was published by the Liberal Islamischer Bund (Liberal Islamic Association) entitled “Empowerment Instead of Antisemitism.” It was financed, inter alia,
by the German government office for migration and refugees. The report
shows that many Muslim teens justify their antisemitism with the
argument that they themselves have experienced degradation and
intolerance due to increasing Islamophobia. It concludes that members of
the Muslim minority seek a scapegoat in an even smaller minority, the
Jews.
This second report came under heavy criticism. Alan Posener, political correspondent at Die Welt,
wrote that antisemitism among Muslim youth is the expression of
preexisting antisemitic prejudice, not a response to Islamophobia.
Political scientist Hamed Abdel-Samad also denied that Muslim
antisemitism is the result of Islamophobia. If this were the case, he
wrote, the Muslim world would be free of Islamism and antisemitism,
since Islamophobia is nonexistent in those countries.
Source: https://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/german-intelligence-muslim-antisemitism/
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