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"It is a Muslim duty and our
duty as citizens to report extremist tendencies," Mazyek
said.
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BERLIN — German Muslims
have offered to enhance cooperation with the
security services to fight extremism, an
initiative coinciding with a call from the
interior minister for more Muslim
contributions to fight terror threats in the
European country.
Aiman Mazyek, Secretary
General of the Central Council of Muslims in
Germany, said the body is ready to offer more
local contacts to police to help efforts to
battle extremism, reported Agence France-Presse
(AFP).
"It is a Muslim duty
and our duty as citizens to report extremist
tendencies," he told public broadcaster
ARD on Wednesday, August 23.
Mazyek stressed that the
vast majority of the sizable Muslim minority,
estimated at 3.4 million, stand united against
violence.
The Muslim leader, however,
warned against lumping Muslims together with
"terrorists".
Last March, German Justice
Minister Brigitte Zypries said that the Muslim
minority was suffering from a growing
religious discrimination with many Germans
wrongly associating Islam with terrorism.
A German intelligence
report has revealed that only one percent of
the Muslim population are members of
organizations that pose serious threats to
national security.
Islam comes third in
Germany after Protestant and Catholic
Christianity.
Muslim Help
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"The great majority of Muslims
must say what they think more loudly -- that they reject
terror," Schaeuble said.
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In an interview with Die
Zeit news weekly published on Thursday,
August 24, Interior Minister Wolfgang
Schaeuble called for further Muslim
cooperation to stamp out extremism.
"The great majority of
Muslims must say what they think more loudly
-- that they reject terror," he said
"After all it
threatens Muslims just as much as non-Muslims.
We need the cooperation of organizations to
fight extremists in their ranks."
Schaeuble also called for
tougher measures to fight terror threats in
Germany following the foiled train plot.
"It would be
irresponsible to conclude from the success of
the police search that we do not need to do
more," he told Die Zeit.
The interior minister
suggested an expanded monitoring of Internet
websites and wider observation of suspicious
groups.
"More security cameras
should be used where it is sensible. We need
to step up monitoring of the Internet, for
which we need more experts with the right
language skills.
"We also need to
intensify checks on the rail lines and air
traffic security."
Youssef Mohammed E.H., a
21-year-old Lebanese student, was arrested on
July 31 in connection to a foiled train
terror.
Media reports have said his
brother was killed in the Israeli offensive on
Lebanon and the bombing plot may have been
motivated by anger at the siege.
Neighbors have described
Youssef as a likeable man and a deeply
religious Sunni Muslim.
The second suspend, Jihad
Hamad, on Thursday handed himself over to
Lebanese police in the northern city of
Tripoli.
The prosecutor's office
said the a clean-cut looking 20-year-old has
been brought to Beirut and German
investigators were on their way to question
him and arrange his extradition.
