Politicians Warn Salafists Want to Establish an Islamic State in Germany

SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL: A report from an influential group of politicians has warned that a huge rise in the Islamist scene in Germany has led to reports that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

The President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Hans-Georg Maassen, said he fears that radical Islamists want to establish their own state in Germany.

Maassen told the Frankfurter Allgemeine that the growth of the Islamist scene in Germany is "unrestrained". He said:

"The breeding ground for jihad is growing too. Salafists [a movement within Sunni Islam that references the doctrine known as Salafism] want to establish an Islamic state in Germany."

He said the strongholds of radical Islamism remain in North Rhine-Westphalia, Berlin and Hesse. Around 680 Islamists are believed to have travelled from Germany to Syria or Iraq. One in three of them had now returned. "The exit stream to the combat zones continues unabated," Maassen said. » | Wednesday, April 22, 2015