FDP Vice-Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki has expressed his concern over the lack of recognition of the severity of the recent deadly attack on a police officer in Mannheim compared to a racist incident in Sylt. He emphasized the need for a more robust approach to dealing with Islamism, stating that the largest threat comes from Islamism. Kubicki criticized the response to the attack in Mannheim, where a police officer was fatally stabbed by a suspected Islamist, as being less prominent than the reaction to the racist incident in a bar on Sylt.
The attack in Mannheim occurred during a gathering of the anti-Islamic movement Pax Europa (BPE), where a 29-year-old man attacked six men, including a police officer, who later died from his injuries. The attacker, a 25-year-old Afghan-born man, who arrived in Germany as a teenager in 2014, was also injured after the attack and is currently not in a condition to be interrogated. Kubicki highlighted the need for stronger intervention by the justice system, calling for the banning of Islamist associations and a tougher stance against those who incite hate and violence.
Kubicki criticized the current level of integration in certain areas, stating that it has failed in some regards. He urged Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to acknowledge that the greatest threat comes from Islamism. Kubicki proposed the prohibition of Islamist associations in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in Germany. He also called for a stricter approach to dealing with hate speech and incitement to violence, particularly by online hate preachers who glorify such attacks. He emphasized the need for legal action that conveys the message that the rule of law must be respected.
The FDP Vice-Chairman highlighted the importance of taking a firm stance against individuals who excuse or downplay crimes committed in the name of Islam. He stressed the need for legal decisions that demonstrate that the rule of law must be upheld. Kubicki also criticized the misguided tolerance and relativization of crimes motivated by Islamism, calling for judicial actions that make it clear that such behavior will not be tolerated. He pointed out the need for political courage in enforcing existing legal frameworks to combat extremism effectively.
Following the death of the police officer in Mannheim, police authorities and law enforcement agencies nationwide mourned the loss of their colleague under the hashtag #einervonuns on the X platform. Meanwhile, a video from a Pentecost party in a venue on Sylt, showing guests chanting xenophobic slogans, sparked outrage across Germany. The state security service is investigating the incident, and additional similar incidents have since been reported. The contrasting reactions to these two events have raised questions about the prioritization of security threats and the societal response to such incidents.
