Germany As Target and Breeding Ground for Terrorism

In Germany, the threat of Islamic terrorism remains "consistently high" according to an annual report by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Islamic militants consider Germany as an "operational area" and Islamists regard Germany as a "crusader" as an ally of the United States and Israel. American, Israeli, Russian, and British institutions are also targets. For example, militants were arrested on 4 September 2007, when three individuals allegedly planned attacks on American institutions in Germany and were caught with bomb-making material. In addition, by 2007 there were 30 nationwide active Islamist organisations. Among these groups, 1,390 were active followers of the Muslim Brotherhood, and about 900 were from the Lebanese Shia radical group Hezbollah.