Fear in Germany: Islamists could aid the far-right

Germany is grappling with fear and political division following a deadly attack on a pride parade in Berlin, an event known as Christopher Street Day (CSD).

The attacker, identified as an Islamist extremist, killed one Polish woman and injured approximately 30 others before being killed during a police operation. This incident, targeting symbols of Western life, has shaken Germany and prompted official declarations for legal changes to curb Islamist threats. However, the approach to necessary changes is dividing mainstream parties, as is the issue of deportations.

A complicating factor is that the attacker was a German citizen born in Germany to parents who emigrated from Lebanon. While previous attacks by Islamist extremists, often immigrants whose asylum claims were rejected, raised questions about why they weren't deported, this case poses a new dilemma: can a radical Islamist with a German passport be deported?

This question brings the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's long-standing call for "re-emigration" into sharper focus. The AfD advocates forcing not only immigrants who commit crimes or are denied legal protection but also German citizens of immigrant descent, particularly Muslims, who they deem not integrated, to leave the country. Some regional AfD branches are under counter-intelligence surveillance for this stance.

Meanwhile, the conservative CDU/CSU parties have proposed stripping citizenship from dangerous radicals who also hold another country's passport, allowing for their deportation. Bavarian Premier Markus Söder and CDU leader Friedrich Merz believe this could be implemented without constitutional changes. German intelligence estimates there are around 410 Islamists posing a security threat, with over 28,000 individuals linked to Islamist organizations and terrorism, including more than 9,000 considered capable of violence.