[GOTFIVEONIT]

German converts under microscope

Saturday, 15 September 2007

Bochum, September 15: The recent arrest of two German converts on accusations of plotting terrorist attacks has placed Muslim converts in the European country under the microscope, with some painting them with too broad a brush for political gains.

"You can't say that conversion to Islam carries an implicit tendency towards becoming a radical," Stefan Reichmuth, a professor of Islamic studies at the Ruhr University in Bochum, told.

He added that the associates of the new converts could be a motivating factor for radicalization. "Conversions seldom happen in isolation. They occur in the context of acquaintances, the environment or the works that one encounters after converting."

Last week, Germany announced the arrest of three people, including two Germans who embraced Islam, for planning attacks on Frankfurt international airport and a nearby U.S. military base. Bavaria's interior minister and premier designate, Günther Beckstein suggested monitoring Germans who embrace the Muslim faith.

"Security forces learn of a conversion, they should establish whether it involves a liberal and humane form of Islam or an Islamist one." There are between 15,000 and 40,000 German converts, according to the Federal Interior Ministry.

Other estimates put the number between 60,000 and 80,000. Germany is home to some 3.2 million Muslims, over half of whom are of Turkish origin.

Minority

Michael Muhammad Abuh Pfaff, the chairman of the German Muslim League, dismissed the suggestion as "pure populism" for scoring political points. He insisted that German converts who get radicalized are a very slim minority.

"Of all the Muslim converts in Germany, we're talking about 25 or so who would fit into this category," maintained 42-year-old Pfaff, who embraced Islam at the age of 18. Reichmuth, the a professor of Islamic studies, agreed.

He noted that most German converts are women married to Muslims. "Radicalization is rare among the female converts."

Pfaff said that injustice and anger at society were the main motivating factors of radicalization. He cited the case of Gudrun Ensslin of the Red Army Faction, a left-wing terrorist group at the center of Germany's "Autumn of Terror" 30 years ago.

Pfaff said Ensslin was the daughter of a Protestant pastor who was radicalized after associating with a group of far-leftists unhappy with German society. He warned that calls for putting Muslim converts under scrutiny would fuel Islamophobia in the European country.

"Turks could go back to Turkey, I suppose, and Egyptians to Egypt," Pfaff said. "But for us converts, this is our home. That's why I have a special interest in seeing that our rights are protected." -Agencies




The Siasat Daily, 2004.
Jawaharlal Nehru Road, Abids, Hyderabad - 500001, AP, India
Tel: +91-40-24744180, Fax: +91-40-24603188
contact@siasat.com