- Germany is fighting right-wing Islamist extremism through the program, Hayat, run by Ms. Claudia Dantschke, who is considered as an expert on Islamic extremism.
- She was one of the first to raise alarms about the threat of radical Islam way back in 1990s when hardly anyone acknowledged Turkish ‘guest workers’ as permanent residents.
- Of late, Islamic radicalism has been spreading quickly through Europe with many youngsters being lured towards the war in Syria. Recruiters hand away Quran or proselytize as fundamentalists Salafi preachers even posting videos extolling their new life.
- Many Turks born and raised in Germany easily enter Turkey without a passport and cross over the border to reach Syria. So far over 350 have joined the war, of which many were killed and over a hundred returned, with about 15 of them with battle-field experience.
- There has been fear over what they might do with the skills picked up.
- Ms. Dantschke combats Islamists’ appeal to German youths by using methods originally devised to wean young East Germans off far-right ideologies. She also emphasizes on the need for greater integration of Muslims into German society.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/in-germany-a-mission-to-deradicalise-young-muslims/article6207622.ece