Expert calls for better information-sharing after Berlin Islamist attack
Following an Islamist-motivated attack at Berlin's CSD Pride event, carried out by a man already known to police as a potential threat, an extremism researcher warns that authorities may have misjudged the danger he posed.
An Islamist-motivated attack at Berlin's CSD Pride event has raised questions about how a man already flagged by police as a potential danger was able to carry it out. On the "Berlin Playbook" podcast, journalist Rixa Fürsen discussed the case with extremism researcher Gülden Hennemann, who heads the central coordination unit for anti-extremism measures within Bavaria's prison system.
Hennemann, a political scientist and scholar of Middle Eastern studies, said authorities may have made a flawed risk assessment. She warned that a person's public distancing from a group like the Islamic State does not automatically mean that person is no longer dangerous — such statements should not be taken as a sign that a threat has diminished.
Call for closer cooperation
Hennemann is calling for complete, unobstructed information-sharing between police and courts. She argued that this exchange must not be blocked by overly strict interpretations of data protection rules, which can hinder the timely identification of dangerous individuals.
Hennemann also serves on the German Federal Interior Ministry's advisory council on preventing and combating Islamism. In that role, she pushes for radicalization processes to be stopped as early as possible, with particular attention to schools as a setting where such processes can begin.
She further stressed that society needs to stop avoiding open discussion of Islamism, a reluctance often driven by fear of stigmatization. According to Hennemann, this kind of taboo hampers effective efforts to address the problem.
