Minister calls for crackdown on extremism

German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has called for a tougher crack-down on religious fanaticism and on those inciting violence.

That applies especially to the growing number of radical Salafists, Islamists who want to introduce Sharia law, in Germany.

Speaking at a congress in Munich of his conservative CSU party, Friedrich said he planned to impose a “systematic ban” on extremist organizations. He also wants to make it easier to deport not only violent fanatics but also those spewing so-called “hate speech” and inciting violence.

Friedrich will introduce a draft bill to this end at the meeting of state interior ministers in May. He said radical Salafists presented a “big danger” in Germany and that there were networks operating abroad, with a growing number of the radical Islamists travelling to Syria and elsewhere.

Friedrich last week also banned the “DawaFFM” and “Islamische Audios” Salafist groups. It’s unclear exactly how many Salafists there are in Germany, but Friedrich put the number at 4,500.

Four Salafist extremists were arrested last week for allegedly plotting to assassinate the xenophobic German leader of anti-Muslim political party in North Rhine-Westphalia.

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