Engaging “Moderates” Against “Extremists” in German Politics on Islam

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Notes

1. In the German political context, “radicalization” is considered to be a development towards “extremist” efforts seeking to abolish elements of the liberal democratic basic order, see below.

2. The responses to the interview question what they think about the term “Islamism” among Muslims were overwhelmingly negative.

3. All translations from German by the author unless indicated otherwise.

4. The brochure cover can be viewed at http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/download-manager/_broschuere-2013-09-islamismus-entstehung-und-erscheinungsformen.pdf.

5. The liberal democratic basic order [freiheitlich demokratische Grundordnung] has been defined by the Federal Constitutional Court comprising as core elements sovereignty of the people, rule of law, right to parliamentary opposition, responsibility and possible change of the government, independent courts, prohibition of arbitrary rule, human rights as determined in the Grundgesetz, see BVerfGE 2, 1; BverfSchG §4 (2).

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Notes on contributors

Tobias Müller

Tobias Müller is a Ph.D. Candidate at the Department for Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Cambridge. His doctoral research, funded by a Vice Chancellor’s Award, analyzes the interactions and mutual transformations of Muslim communities and state actors in the UK and Germany. His research interests include contemporary and critical political theory, theories of secularism, and Islam in Europe. He has published on religion and people’s power in liberal democratic theory, and on contemporary Islamic thinkers’ understandings of secularism.