The psychologist Ahmad Mansour is one of the most profound experts on the Islamist scene in Germany. Born an Arab Israeli, he has worked for years on preventing extremism among Muslim young people. In his keynote talk before some 40 Jewish Berliners, he spoke about the ideology and development of political Islam and its – sadly successful – strategy for radicalising Muslim youth. According to Mansour, there is now a “Generation Allah” from which Salafists and terrorists are recruited. Antisemitism is one of the core elements of their ideology.
Countering this, Mansour explained from his own experience, requires educational intervention in schools and youth facilities, but above all in the virtual social networks as well. For the millions of Muslim refugees newly arrived in the country he called, among other things, for democratic socialisation as part of the integration courses.
Mansour also urged the majority society to adopt a more self-assured attitude towards its own values. He was critical of the misconceived tolerance shown by the state and by society towards questionable Islamic associations. As one example he cited the invitation of an Islamist imam as a speaker at the commemoration marking the anniversary of the attack on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. This
invitation was not merely the result of ignorance, but the outcome of a policy of deliberately looking away, particularly on the part of the responsible Protestant church representatives. The Islamic associations courted by politics and society exploit the ignorance and weakness of the majority society for their strategy. Yet, according to Mansour, they do not represent the majority of Muslims in Germany. Instead of giving Islamists who reject the free democratic order a platform and thus legitimacy, the “invisible majority” of non-radical, peaceful Muslims well disposed towards democracy must be activated.
Like the WerteInitiative, Ahmad Mansour sees integration and security as the dominant issues that our country urgently needs to address. We thank him for his courageous work and his clear words. Our thanks also go to Cornelia Seibeld (Member of the Berlin House of Representatives) and the CDU parliamentary group in Berlin, who made this highly informative evening possible.
