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Germany
Proposes Tagging "Violence-prone Islamists"
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"This
would allow us to monitor the roughly 3,000 Islamists who are prone to
violence, hate preachers and fighters trained in terrorist camps,"
Schuenemann said.
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BERLIN,
December 29, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – A regional
German interior minister has proposed electronically tagging those he
said were known to be "Islamic militants" for tracking their
movements.
"This
would allow us to monitor the roughly 3,000 Islamists who are prone to
violence, hate preachers and fighters trained in terrorist camps,"
Lower Saxony Interior Minister Uwe Schuenemann said Wednesday, December
28, Reuters reported.
In
an interview with Die Welt newspaper, he said that electronic
tagging was a viable alternative to holding "suspected
militants" in protective custody, the scheme floated by former
German interior minister Otto Schily.
"It's
practical for all Islamists who are prone to violence and who we can't
expel to their home countries because they could be tortured," said
Schuenemann.
The
official said that the move would not be against Germany's constitution.
Federal
and state governments in Germany share responsibility for security
services.
Under
the country's federal system, states have a great deal of control over
their internal security operations and routine policing.
Monitoring
The
German proposal comes after the British government proposed the
electronic tagging of terror suspects in July as an alternative to
jailing them without charge.
Since
the July 7 attacks in London, electronic tagging of criminals has become
widespread in Britain, where much of the work is being outsourced to
private companies.
Following
the attacks, concerns have been high in Germany and other European
countries on how to combat "Islamic radicalization".
On
July 18, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said that the government
was considering placing all mosques under scrutiny through
closed-circuit TV cameras.
There
are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, two thirds of whom are of
Turkish origin.
Islam
comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.
A
German intelligence report has revealed
that only one percent of Germany’s Muslim population are members of
organizations that pose serious threats to the country’s national
security.
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