The number of Islamist terrorists in Germany has decreased slightly in recent years, according to statistics from Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA). Today, there are around 500 radicalized individuals who pose a security threat.
It's not a heterogeneous group. Of the around 500, it's unclear which currents they belong to, says Lars Wiegold, who is active at the Leibniz Institute for Peace and Conflict Research in Frankfurt and has specialized in radicalization and extremism, primarily in online environments.
Propaganda Material
The two men who are now standing trial are said to have developed their terror plans together with the terrorist organization IS Khorasan, which at least one of them has joined.
It's difficult to say how large the group is in Germany, but in the deadly knife attacks in Solingen and Mannheim earlier this year, the perpetrators had access to propaganda material from IS Khorasan.
They have a presence in Germany and have gained significant influence in jihadist environments in recent years.
But it's not like when IS was big in Syria and Iraq and had its center there; now it's looser. Today's perpetrators are more influenced by propaganda material and not as much by personal contacts.
Organized Demonstration
Although radicalization normally doesn't occur without offline contacts, social media functions as a catalyst.
A prominent organization with tens of thousands of followers on social media is Muslim Interaktiv, which is close to Hizb ut-Tahrir and the Muslim Brotherhood. In February last year, the group organized a large demonstration in response to the Quran burnings in Sweden.
The narrative was that there is a history of Islamophobia and systematic attempts to harm Islam. It was partly directed against Sweden, but Sweden rather served as a symbol of how the West demonizes Islam.
Lars Wiegold notes that they never called for violence, although some statements were heated.
Two Convicted
Last year, two men in Germany were convicted of planning to carry out terrorist attacks against a Swedish church. Now, two men are standing trial for terror plans against the Swedish Parliament. However, Lars Wiegold does not see a general threat to Sweden from German Islamists. Those who plan attacks likely do so in Germany.
Jihadist attacks are much about how familiar you are with your surroundings and what contacts you have. Can you get weapons, do you know the area so well that you know where you can really harm people?
In March this year, two men, 30 and 23 years old, were arrested in the German city of Gera.
The police's special task force struck after a decision by Germany's Federal Prosecutor Jens Rommel.
The men are suspected of having planned to open fire on police and others in or near the Parliament in Stockholm. The terror plans are said to be motivated by the recent Quran burnings in Sweden and were developed in close consultation with IS Khorasan, which at least one of the suspects joined last year.
The men are said to have mapped out the area around the Parliament building and attempted to obtain firearms, although they did not succeed.
