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Germany Replaces Islamism Taskforce With New Advisory Panel, Triggering Backlash

The shake-up sets a more ideological course that opponents say will erode trust with Muslim communities.

Overview

  • The Interior Ministry dissolved its Taskforce on Islamism Prevention and installed a 15-member advisory council that includes psychologist Ahmad Mansour.
  • The new body has been tasked with drafting a federal–state action plan on combating Islamism and establishing a Documentation Center for Political Islam.
  • Former taskforce members and experts, including Lamya Kaddor and Peter Neumann, criticize the appointments as contentious and warn that practical prevention expertise has been sidelined.
  • Established practitioners and networks such as Bag RelEx, Claudia Dantschke and Thomas Mücke are no longer represented, raising concerns about weaker links to frontline deradicalization work.
  • Mansour rejects investigative claims by Correctiv about his Dis_Ident research project as false, defends its academic oversight, and recounts years of police protection while decrying a degraded debate culture.