Prevention Network Religiously Motivated Extremism

By launching this program at federal state level, Hesse closed a gap in the fight against radical tendencies, mainly among young Muslims. The development of the program was based on the insight that the growing problem posed by the religiously motivated extremism cannot be countered with the methods and means available to the security authorities alone. For this reason, social stakeholders such as representatives of the Hessian municipalities and the Islamic associations were invited to take part in the activities of the network in the form of an advisory committee.

The activities of the network, which are coordinated by the competence centre against extremism at the Interior Ministry, are mainly carried out by experts of the Berlin-based Violence Prevention Network and combine different advisory services and prevention offers. As at the end of July 2014, initially, seven staff members seconded to this program are to offer workshops at schools and raise awareness of this issue in mosque communities. The staff members also act as a point of contact for affected parents. The network also offers counselling to young persons, who have already become radicalized, and assists them step by step, if they wish to exit the scene.