Detail News

A delegation from the Documentation Centre for Political Islam (DPI) visited representatives of the European Commission and the European Parliament in Brussels at the end of September. The talks at the European Union (EU) institutions focused on a more detailed presentation of the DPI's activities and an exchange of views on transnational structures of religiously motivated political extremism. The delegation included Director Lisa Fellhofer and Deputy Director Ferdinand Haberl. During the exchange, the DPI emphasised the need for increased European cooperation in the field of extremism prevention and knowledge exchange between Member States.

Another focus of the talks was the rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Europe since the terrorist attack by the Islamist Hamas on October 7, 2023. In this context, the DPI delegation also met with the European Commission's Anti-Semitism Commissioner, Katharina von Schnurbein. Among other things, the exchange focused on the increasing threat to Jewish communities in Europe and the importance of prevention work. The visit underscored the need for a European approach to combating extremist ideologies and strengthening democratic and pluralistic values.

Prevention of extremism in the context of integration

In November 2025, the 30th meeting of the Integration Advisory Council, which was established to promote cross-competence networking, took place. Representatives of the federal government, states, cities, municipalities, and social partners exchange ideas in this legally established body. One focus of the meeting was on the prevention of radicalization and extremism in social media. In addition, insights and background information on the German-speaking Islamist influencer scene were provided. DPI Science Coordinator Alexander Weissenburger informed the committee about key trends and observations on radicalization processes in social media. Among others, Tuğrul Kurt (University of Vienna) presented the prevention project “Hey Imam,” which develops practical approaches for the early detection and prevention of radicalization. 

Online seminar focusing on politcial Islam

As part of a series of events organized by the Austrian Integration Fund (ÖIF), an online seminar was also held in November with DPI Deputy Director Ferdinand Haberl. In his presentation entitled “Political Islam: Extremism in the context of global conflicts and local impacts,” he examined, among other things, the ideological foundations as well as the central Islamist actors and their development. The focus was on digital spaces and Islamist narratives prevalent in Europe. Transnational interconnections and alliances between various forces in political Islam were also discussed. In this context, practical examples involving multipliers from various fields were discussed.