The MOTRA research consortium, funded by three federal ministries, has published a report on radicalization in Germany. The radicalization of the Muslim community, especially among young people, is particularly worrying. This group is increasingly leaning toward political Islam and anti-Semitism, both openly and covertly.

MOTRA (short for „Monitoring System and Transfer Platform for Radicalization,” which has been researching radicalization since 2019) recently published a report on topics such as the spread of extreme attitudes, protest mobilization, anti-Semitism, politically motivated crime, right-wing extremism, and „anti-Islamic sentiment.” The 2024/2025 monitor is 595 pages long and reveals alarming findings, especially regarding radicalization among the at least 5.6 million Muslims in Germany.

Illustration (Photo: AFP)

While the average age of the total population of Germany is 44, the average age among Muslims is only 32. In absolute terms, this means that there are approximately 2.5-3.5 million Muslims between the ages of 18 and 40 living in the country. One of the report’s findings is therefore particularly worrying: younger Muslims are particularly susceptible to Islamism and anti-Semitism, writes the German news portal Nius.

Neue Statistik zeigt drastische Radikalisierung: Fast jeder zweite Muslim unter 40 ist Islamist und Judenhasser https://t.co/lmVfOAqoHf #Studie #MOTRA #Islamismus #Antisemitismus #Judenhass #Muslime #Islam via @niusde_

— Ronald Palmer (@RPalmer14962) March 11, 2026

Growing rejection of the Western lifestyle

Openly Islamist views are most prevalent among Muslims under the age of 40, at 11.5 percent. This age group has seen the largest increase in the proportion of people with latent Islamist attitudes since 2021. By 2025, this proportion is expected to reach 33.6 percent among those under 40.

Overall, by 2025, 45.1 percent of younger Muslims living in Germany will be openly or covertly Islamist and anti-Semitic.

The unprecedented Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent Gaza war, as well as the surrounding debate in Germany, undoubtedly fueled the dynamics of radicalization. According to the report, a „pro-Islamist” attitude is characterized by Muslims’ willingness to make Islamic religious rules the basis of the state’s political constitution, to generally devalue non-Islamic religions and societies, and to widely and exaggeratedly praise Islam.

In 2025, 23.8 percent of respondents, or nearly a quarter, considered Islamic theocracy to be the best form of government. Given this, the open calls for the establishment of a caliphate at pro-Hamas demonstrations are understandable.

A full quarter of respondents (25.1 percent) agreed in 2025 that the rules of the Koran are more important than German laws.

Anti-Semitism is on the rise.

Attitudes that categorically devalue Western societies or the Christian religion are quite widespread among Muslim respondents, according to the MOTRA report.

For example, 27.7 percent agree with the statement that Christian religions are unable to guarantee morality, and 44.8 percent consider the sexual morality of Western societies to be completely corrupt.

While the over-60 age group holds the least radical views, young Muslims under the age of 40 have shown the highest rate of openly Islamist and anti-Semitic attitudes in recent years. At 29.1 percent, they currently have the highest proportion of openly anti-Semitic attitudes. This group has also seen the most significant increase.

The increase in anti-Semitic attitudes (agreement with the statements „Jews have too much influence in Germany” and „Jews cannot be trusted”) is also worrying. While anti-Semitic prejudices have spread among all population groups since October 7, they are particularly prevalent among younger Muslims.

Eigentlich braucht es dafür keine Statistik, es reicht, sich die Kommentare dieser Klientel unter
pro-jüdischen Accounts in den sozialen Netzwerken anzusehen.
Man kann auch Juden direkt fragen.

„Der von drei Bundesministerien geförderte Forschungsverbund MOTRA hat einen Bericht… pic.twitter.com/mNjLzyaQGJ

— malca goldstein-wolf (@WolfMalca) March 11, 2026

„One in four. That’s not funny.”

Dutch writer Leon de Winter commented with due concern on this disastrous development in his commentary published in Die Welt:

„Direct and indirect haters together make up 14.5 percent of the adult German population. That’s one in seven people. On the street, on the train, at the KaDeWe department store, in the café. As an unsuspecting pedestrian, I encounter quite a few Jew-haters in German cities with large Muslim populations. This is no joke… 45.1 percent of Muslims in this age group (18-39 years old) are openly or covertly Islamist. This means that I have to be careful with every Muslim couple, because half of them hate Jews.”

The study also confirms the thesis of imported anti-Semitism, which manifests itself, among other things, in aggressive and sometimes violent demonstrations by radical Muslims on German streets, especially since 2023.