Salafism, an ultra-conservative strand of Sunni Islam that has a growing number of followers in Germany, is becoming part of the country‘s youth culture, according to a professor of ethno-religious studies at Frankfurt‘s Goethe University.
The rigid rules advocated by the movement - which supports the implementation of Islamic law, or sharia - are an "answer to uncertainty" experienced by young Muslims in Germany, Susanne Schroeter told dpa Tuesday.
Salafism has become a "protest culture in an era where other protest cultures no longer elicit a reaction," said Schroeter, who has written extensively on Muslims in Germany and gender dynamics in Islamic societies.
She was responding to Tuesday‘s ban of a Salafist organization best-known for distributing copies of the Koran across Germany on suspicion of recruiting Muslims on behalf of the Islamic State group.
The way Salafists approach young Muslims in Germany is "very cool, very contemporary and in a way that is appreciated by young people - of course that hits home," Schroeter said. [europe online] Read more
