CEP Senior Director Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler appointed to new German government Task Force. “The Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) is replacing its advisors in the fight against Islamism. The previous Task Force on Islamism Prevention, which began its work under the previous government in October 2024, will be further developed in terms of content and reorganized in terms of personnel, the ministry announced on Friday.”

A new permanent advisory board on the prevention of Islamism is being established at the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI). This new group of experts replaces a task force founded only last year by former Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). The board includes Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, Counter Extremism Project.

CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson writes: "Watching Novembre, Cédric Jimenez’s 2022 dramatisation of the manhunt for the perpetrators of the November 2015 Bataclan massacre, what stands out is the gaping chasm between how France and Britain have reckoned with jihadism – an ideological threat that has irrevocably altered both our societies, far more than we would care to admit."

CEP Strategic Advisor writes: "The rumblings began before the book was even published. When the book came out in January though, Bergeaud-Blackler, no stranger to sensitive subjects, could not have anticipated the response. The denunciations came thick and fast, some from Islamist sympathisers in the media and academic sphere, some from those who believed they were defending Muslims against a bigoted screed. The author’s conference at the Sorbonne was cancelled (since rescheduled) without a proper explanation. As the controversy grew, death threats arrived."

"Hans-Jakob Schindler of the Berlin-based Counter Extremism Project told the Bundestag that the dearth of information about the financing of Islamist groups in Germany is partly due to 'legal gaps and hurdles, existing limitations on the powers of the security authorities, as well as a lack of transparency requirements' for mosques and Islamic associations. He said that the legislative proposals could lead to 'major improvements' in filling the knowledge gap (Erkenntnislücke) about the financing of Islamism in Germany."