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In Austria, networks linked to Political Islam are exploiting current trends to spread their ideology and establish a comprehensive alternative to the West.

The Documentation Center Political Islam (DPI) has published its new annual report. The individual contributions by authors—such as Lina Khatib and Jan-Markus Vömel—illustrate how effectively Political Islam can spread in modern societies: Through influencers, foreign state religious authorities, transnational networks, as well as the targeted manipulation of (digital) knowledge resources and the ideologization of everyday life. The annual report documents the professionalization and differentiation of various aspects of religiously motivated political extremism.

Political Islam as a Business Model and a Source of Identity

Islamist groups utilize the available formats of digital communication and frequently employ the language of popular youth cultures to appeal to a young audience in German-speaking countries. This is usually done through videos that are shaped by anti-democratic and often anti-Semitic viewpoints and address current issues in young people’s daily lives as well as political developments and conflicts. The narrative portraying the West as the enemy is linked to an Islamist lifestyle. Liberal democracy is presented as a system that must be rejected outright as part of this trend. Content in the areas of sports, nutrition, careers, and relationships is imbued with ideology by influencers and exploited as lucrative business ventures. In this context, books, coaching sessions, retreats, networking events, and other gatherings are marketed—events where, beyond identity-building and community, financial success is also a key focus. This gives rise to religiously influenced sources of meaning as well as a market segment that fosters a sense of belonging and helps spread Islamist ideologies in an easily accessible way.

Through firm faith, self-improvement, and strict discipline, the goal is to achieve “masculine excellence”—similar to an Islamist “mosphere.” One example is the “Rujulah 1000” project, which was launched by a leader of the Salafist missionary organization IMAN. Among other things, the initiative offers retreats and courses and promotes the pursuit of “true masculinity.” Through communal prayers, business and networking events among like-minded individuals—such as the “United Conference”—the program takes on a religious dimension while simultaneously creating low-threshold access to religiously oriented communities from which new members are to be recruited. Furthermore, sports brands such as “Deenathletic” link the fitness sector with an Islamist lifestyle. The worldview conveyed by these offerings frequently includes extremist elements and serves, among other things, to build parallel structures far removed from liberal and democratic models of society.

Influencing Digital Sources

The annual report shows that actors in political Islam have recognized the importance of cognitive influence in the new digital age. In addition to influencers, who remain very much in vogue, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as an additional factor. Large language models (LLMs), chatbots, and AI-generated search summaries draw extensively on freely available online content. Accordingly, attempts are being made to specifically influence knowledge platforms and embed extremist narratives there. This can be achieved, for example, by disseminating talking points, selectively choosing sources, or using quotes taken out of context—particularly in relevant entries on platforms such as Wikipedia. The one-sided selection of evidence is also used to create discrediting narratives as part of disinformation campaigns.

A telling example is the German-language Wikipedia article on the Muslim Brotherhood. The page’s edit history shows that individual users repeatedly removed critical sources regarding the group—which is listed as a terrorist organization in some countries—and added others that portray the Brotherhood in a more positive light. In addition, critical passages related to the Islamist organization were removed from other articles. A closer analysis confirms that the same users were involved in editing entries about individuals and institutions that have taken a critical stance toward the Muslim Brotherhood. Those who shape the encyclopedia entries on sensitive topics—particularly political Islam and extremism—thereby also influence the results of AI systems. This represents one of the greatest challenges of recent years: Not only mass media, but also the training data of various algorithms and search engines are being deliberately manipulated.

Europe as a Arena for Governmental and Non-Governmental Actors

The DPI Annual Report also provides a detailed analysis of the influence of geopolitically significant actors within Political Islam. For example, since the AKP came to power, Turkey has increasingly distanced itself from Kemalism and has since embraced an anti-Western and neo-Ottoman worldview. At the heart of this ideology lies the notion of a distinct “Islamic civilization” that is bound by a common history and a shared destiny and stands in contrast to Western society. This development, referred to as “civilizationalism,” has implications not only for Turkish domestic and foreign policy but also for the integration policies of various countries with large ethnic-Turkish minorities—such as Austria. This worldview fosters the formation of an identity that stands in fundamental opposition to the Western majority society. This identity is disseminated within the Turkish diaspora through associations, clubs, educational institutions, and media outlets aligned with Turkey’s ruling party. Esra Albayrak, chairwoman of the influential NUN Educational Foundation and daughter of Turkish President Erdoğan, spoke out at the “World Decolonization Forum” in May 2026 in favor of “decolonizing” the European-dominated knowledge order and giving greater recognition to “Islamic civilizational values.”

Another actor whose influence extends to Europe is Hamas, which was founded in 1987 as the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood. It is not only a terrorist organization designated as such in Europe and an armed group, but also a political party and a charitable organization. The Islamist group uses its dual structure—religious and charitable activities—to gain a foothold in European countries and to conceal its military operations. In this context, Europe has become a venue for fundraising, recruitment, propaganda, and operational preparations. Particularly since October 7, 2023, there has been a noticeable mobilization of sympathizers who spread the terrorist group’s Islamist narratives and reinterpret it as a “legitimate resistance group.” One specific example is the propaganda outlet “Gaza Now,” which was founded by an activist living in Linz. The Arabic-language channel has over 1.3 million followers, while the English-language channel has just under 200,000. Among other things, it shares footage of the Al-Qassam Brigades and other Islamist units in which their fighters are portrayed as heroes. It is evident that some civil society networks in Europe are adopting these narratives and do not recognize Hamas’s designation as a terrorist organization.

A Challenge for Liberal Democracies

“The DPI Annual Report documents the professionalization and diversification of actors within Political Islam. Liberal democracies in Europe must rise to this challenge. It is important to understand the methods and strategies of Political Islam movements, such as their increasing use of new identity-forming initiatives. This results in current social discourses becoming heavily ideologically charged. Since transnational networks often operate in both digital and analog spaces, increased cooperation in Austria and across Europe is necessary. The Documentation Center continues to pursue the goal of providing a reliable knowledge base, thereby contributing to an evidence-based examination of the challenges posed by religiously motivated political extremism,” said DPI Director Lisa Fellhofer.

DPI-Jahresbericht 2025