Authorities in the southern German state of Bavaria have removed a video warning about the dangers of Islamist extremism from social media after it was criticized as “racist trash” and likened to Nazi-era propaganda.
In a video released by the Bavarian Interior Ministry on September 2nd on the X social network, ominous music plays, then a cartoon character of a Muslim cleric can be seen laughing menacingly while swallowing a young woman. The latter then transforms into a woman in a hijab, representing a large family, crying while mopping the kitchen floor.
The video, whose stated purpose was to warn of the dangers of Salafism, an ultraconservative Sunni movement, drew almost immediate backlash from several German lawmakers, who accused the ministry of spreading crude propaganda and stoking anti-Muslim sentiment.
“Absolutely racist video from the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior. It’s sad, especially in this day and age. Instead of excluding and inciting, we must stand up against anti-Muslim racism.” In X wrote Nikol Golke, member of the German Parliament from the Left Party.
According to the researchers, the video was released to the German public of growing Islamophobia and in the country increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the background.
The release of the video also coincides with the September 1 rally of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, known for its anti-immigration policies, in two German states. from electoral success immediately after.
“Hatred and incitement directly from the ministry, when a day ago we were still surprised by the good results recorded by the AfD.” X wrote Ferat Kocak, MP of the Left Party, who works in the Berlin state parliament.
Koczak questioned whether the Bavarian interior ministry “is using cartoons reminiscent of Nazi propaganda against Jews to incite hatred against Muslims.”
Another left-wing politician and former MP, lawyer Niema Movasat, called the video “unbelievably racist rubbish” and said he would consider filing a lawsuit against Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Hermann for incitement.
The ministry later deleted X’s post and said in a statement to RFE/RL on September 3 that it “extremely regrets if the video has caused anger and misunderstandings.”
“We take the criticism of the video very seriously and have stopped the campaign at this time,” a ministry spokesperson said in an emailed response.
He explained that the video was made as part of a new social media campaign aimed at “informing people about the dangers posed by Salafists and other Islamists and exposing their methods.”
“Since the prevention and deradicalization work in the fight against Salafism is very important to us, we will edit the scenes of the video. However, the dangers of Salafism cannot be underestimated,” the ministry’s spokesperson said.
The cartoon-style video shows the young woman at the center of the plot being harassed on social media after she asks online if Muslim women are allowed to wear make-up.
The European Commission told RFE/RL that it “has no specific comment on this video.”
“Muslim women are playing a very active role in EU society, that’s a positive thing,” said the commission’s spokesperson.
According to the German Islamic ConferenceAbout 5.5 million followers of Islam live in Germany, of which about 3 million are German citizens. The conference was initiated in 2006 by the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, which oversees asylum, migration and integration issues in the country.
Christian Feichtmaier, spokesman for the internal policy of the Bavarian Social Democrats, told the German news agency dpa that the video surprised him to the point that he could not believe what he saw. He noted that the fight against Salafism is important, but “it cannot be the case that taxpayers’ money is spent on something that does not work or perhaps even harms the cause.” “The video certainly leaves that impression on me and others,” the dpa agency quotes Feichtmayer as saying.
