Seyran Ates, a Berlin women’s rights activist, has criticized the federal government’s ten-point plan aimed at combating Islamist terrorism, stating that it is ultimately insufficient. While she praised the government for taking action following the Islamic attack on the Christopher Street Day, Ates pointed out that the current measures only address the symptoms, not the root causes.
She questioned the German legal system’s robustness, urging a serious review of whether its instruments for danger prevention are adequate and consistently applied when known credible threats are released. For very high-risk suspects, an electronic ankle monitor could be a sensible and effective tool, she suggested.
However, Ates stressed that the debate is missing a second, equally critical level of focus. According to her, the fight against Islamism should not wait until a concrete threat emerges from an ideology. Intervention must happen much earlier.
The women’s rights activist explained that Islamist radicalization does not begin with a knife, a car, or an attack plan. Instead, it starts where individuals are taught to reject freedom, gender equality, the rights of queer people, religious diversity, and basic democratic values. Therefore, alongside security and criminal justice measures, there needs to be a much more decisive prevention strategy-one applied in schools, religious education, social media, and within Muslim communities.
Ates, founder of the Ibn-Rushd-Goethe Mosque in Berlin-a space that accommodates shared prayers for men and women and accepts queer individuals-said the attack on the CSD brutally demonstrated the potential for destructive Islamist hatred. She argued that society must consider not only improving the monitoring of suspects but also taking seriously the ideological breeding ground from which such perpetrators emerge.
The ten-point plan, which was presented by Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) and Federal Minister of Justice Stefanie Hubig (SPD) on Wednesday, includes provisions such as harsher penalties for serious knife attacks and an increased focus on security interests when making parole decisions.
