How Germany is manufacturing the Islamist bogeyman

Germany is facing a pivotal moment that may redefine its identity and the image it projects globally. With the far right gaining significant electoral ground, the nation finds itself in the midst of an identity crisis, grappling with serious economic and social challenges.

A growing sense of fear, or “German angst,” is spreading. As in many periods of German history, an enemy figure has emerged.

A century ago, during the Weimar Republic, demagogues and populists targeted German Jews. Today, the “other” is the migrant population, particularly those of Muslim background.

Over the past decade, far-right rhetoric, especially from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, has promoted toxic narratives about migration and Islam. These divisive narratives have become so normalized that they are now part of mainstream discourse, despite being labeled hate speech in other democracies.

One shocking example came from Bavaria’s interior ministry, which posted an official video titled “The Salafism Trap.” This video, which has since been deleted, depicted a man in Muslim attire chatting with a young woman online about makeup.

However, the video soon took a dark turn. The man’s evil laughter was zoomed in on as the animation showed the woman’s transition from a nightclub dancer to wearing a headscarf, and eventually a niqab, while being dominated by her husband at home. Her expression changed from joy to sadness, reinforcing harmful stereotypes.

This kind of imagery bears a striking resemblance to antisemitic caricatures from the Nazi era, specifically those found in the Nazi publication Der Stürmer in the 1920s and 1930s. The malicious smile and demonic laugh portray the “other” as inherently evil.

In contrast, the Muslim woman is shown as naïve, vulnerable, and dependent—incapable of making her own decisions as she is supposedly under the control of the man, thereby perpetuating Islamophobic ideas.

Islamophobic Conspiracy Theories The narrative in the video draws from an old Islamophobic conspiracy theory. In a 1913 essay called “The Menace of Pan-Islamism,” Albert Edwards painted a grim picture of a global conspiracy driven by Islamic political activism as a threat to the West.

This reductionist view of political Islam has now become prevalent in mainstream German society, where any form of Islamic political engagement is viewed with suspicion, seen as a stepping stone toward extremism.

Similar to the message in the Bavaria ministry’s video, any interaction with Islamic discourse is depicted as a path that ultimately leads to terrorism, echoing the long-debunked “conveyor belt theory.” This theory has been pushed by Israeli and Emirati figures in the counter-extremism space to securitize any form of Islamic political engagement.

Despite the fact that only a small fraction of Germany’s Muslim population—around 0.2 percent—is believed to have radical tendencies, the occasional violent crime committed by disenfranchised individuals in the name of Islam leads to the media and political establishment stoking the flames of Islamophobia.

Shifting Discourse As many Germans fear losing the comforts they have long enjoyed, the “othering” of Muslims finds fertile ground. With their country now referred to as the “sick man of Europe,” Germans are seeing familiar certainties evaporate.

The industrial base is weakening, critical infrastructure is deteriorating, prosperity and purchasing power are shrinking, and the political leadership appears disorganized. At the same time, low birth rates and an aging population are casting a shadow over the country’s demographic future.

For decades, the certainty of economic and industrial strength had been a pillar of post-war German identity, alongside a commitment to learning from the horrors of the Holocaust. “Made in Germany” was a badge of national pride, symbolizing the country’s recovery.

However, today, negative interpretations of German identity are resurfacing, and not only in AfD circles. In Bavaria, for example, the Christian Social Union has long maintained an ambiguous stance on whether Islam truly belongs to Germany. As a result, tolerance toward Islam has been tied more to cultural assimilation than simple integration.

Muslims who are visibly practicing their faith face prejudice, hate, and violence—not just from extremist groups but also from more moderate sections of society.

The interior ministry’s controversial video is just one symptom of the broader shift in how Germany perceives itself and the place of Islam within that identity. Rather than preventing radicalization, such attitudes risk deepening the alienation and frustration of the country’s Muslim population.

In fact, these Islamophobic sentiments may unwittingly play into the hands of religious extremists, who can exploit the feelings of exclusion and marginalization experienced by Muslims.