German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Tuesday that Islamic extremism was a real threat to Germany, as the government published its annual report of the nation's domestic intelligence service. "We have not moved out of the sights of Islamists prepared to use violence," Schaeuble said, adding that people who had grown up in Germany and attended terrorist training camps abroad presented a "real threat for security in Germany."
Germany's troop presence in Afghanistan was a "thorn in the side of Islamists,"Schaeuble said, explaining that this raised Germany's profile as a target. The interior minister said that up till now, luck and the work of the intelligence services had prevented any terrorist threat being carried out in the country. So far this year, three Islamist videos specifically threatening Germany had been released on the internet. Right-wing extremism was also a growing concern in Germany. "The number of neo-Nazis - and this is worrying - has risen anew," Schaeuble said.
Although membership of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD)had dropped, cases of right-wing violence rose in 2008. Schaeuble opposed a renewed attempt to outlaw the NPD, saying if the courts rejected such a bid, this would "work like a boomerang," placing the party in a favourable light.
In 2008, the number of potentially violent far-right extremists dropped slightly to around 9,500, but politically-motivated crime peaked. According to figures released April 20, far-right deeds had risen almost 16 per cent to 19,894.
The report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution said there were also roughly 6,300 left-wing extremists in Germany. The Left Party, composed in part of ex-communists from the East, was also mentioned in the report, which said that "regardless of their ambivalent image" they were suspected of behaving unconstitutionally.