German Council on Preventing Extremism (BAG RelEx)

The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft religiös begründeter Extremismus e. V. (BAG RelEx), rendered in English as the German Council on Preventing Extremism, is a German non-profit umbrella association (Dachverband) of civil society organisations active in democracy promotion and in the prevention, distancing and deradicalisation work related to religiously motivated extremism. It was founded in November 2016 as a joint initiative of 25 civil society organisations and has since grown to encompass more than thirty member organisations from across Germany. Its founding principle was, and remains, to work together against religiously motivated extremism. BAG RelEx describes itself as a platform and interface between civil society actors, politics and the public. Through projects and services in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, its member organisations cover the full spectrum of radicalisation prevention. Some projects focus on political education aimed at promoting tolerance, democracy and participation, while others run counselling centres for individuals and their families who have been involved with extremism. The association promotes the exchange of expertise, develops quality standards for prevention and exit work, and represents the interests of civil society actors vis-à-vis media, politics, academia and administration. The association is based in Berlin, where its office (Geschäftsstelle) is led by managing director Jamuna Oehlmann. Its board is composed of five voluntary members drawn from member organisations. BAG RelEx is funded within the federal programme "Demokratie leben!" by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ), with additional support from the Internal Security Fund via the EU project SHIELDed, the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) via the model project wissenschafts:praxisnah, and co-financing from the Berlin state commission against violence. It also maintains international cooperation partnerships with organisations in Belgium and Austria. As a recognised provider of political education work, BAG RelEx publishes policy briefs, reports and information materials, organises specialist events and online formats, and participates in expert policy debates on current developments in the field. Its work spans Islamism prevention, terrorism research, radicalisation processes in digital space, current trends involving artificial intelligence, democracy promotion, and European and international networking.

The Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft religiös begründeter Extremismus e. V. (BAG RelEx) was founded as a non-profit organisation on 30 November 2016 by 25 civil society organisations. Its creation responded to the growing public and policy attention to Islamist radicalisation that had emerged from the early 2000s, when the term "religious extremism" began to be widely used in press and media coverage. Alongside other forms of political extremism such as right-wing and left-wing extremism, religiously motivated radicalisation came to be seen as a significant challenge to society. The founding principle was to build a nationwide network to connect prevention providers, enable specialist exchange, further develop prevention work, and represent the field's interests vis-à-vis politics, administration and the public. The association's constitution commits it to opposing any form of religiously motivated extremism and to advocating tolerant coexistence on the basis of the liberal democratic rule of law. It is explicitly non-partisan and non-denominational. BAG RelEx understands itself as a platform for organisations working in primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of religiously motivated radicalisation. It promotes exchange between academia, practice, media and politics, coordinates joint specialist events, and develops formats for quality assurance and the further development of prevention work. It also participates in expert policy debates and publishes statements, publications and information materials on current developments in the field. By August 2026 the umbrella association reported 39 member organisations, up from the original 25 founders. It maintains international cooperation partnerships with a provider in Belgium (Wegweise Ostbelgien, a programme of the German-speaking Community of Belgium for the prevention of violent radicalisation) and a provider in Austria (Beratungsstelle Extremismus, a nationwide contact point for all questions on extremism). The board was re-elected in its existing composition for a further two years on 6 May 2026. It consists of five voluntary members: Derviş Hızarcı (board chair, KIgA e. V.), Friederike Müller (board chair, IFAK e. V.), Silke Baer (cultures interactive e. V.), Dženeta Isaković (Mosaik Deutschland e. V.) and Karin Meißner (FITT gGmbH). Former board members include Leila Younis (formerly INSIDE OUT e. V.), Behnaz Bleimehl (FITT gGmbH), Thomas Mücke (VPN gGmbH), Amir Alexander Fahim (TGD e. V.), Dr. Götz Nordbruch (ufuq.de), Tobias Meilicke (formerly TGS-H e. V.) and Samy Charchira (Die AGB e. V.). The board's work is coordinated by an office (Geschäftsstelle) based in Berlin and led by managing director Jamuna Oehlmann, who was a member of the Berlin House of Representatives' Enquete Commission "For social cohesion, against antisemitism, racism, anti-Muslim hostility and every form of discrimination" and, until November 2025, a member of the Federal Ministry of the Interior's Islamism prevention task force. Nine further staff work in the office, with thematic focuses including prevention of religiously motivated extremism, Islamism prevention, terrorism research, radicalisation processes in digital space and current trends involving artificial intelligence, democracy promotion, European and international networking, and knowledge transfer and advocacy for member organisations. BAG RelEx is funded within the federal programme "Demokratie leben!" by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). It additionally receives funding from the Internal Security Fund within the EU project SHIELDed, from the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) within the model project wissenschafts:praxisnah, and co-financing from the Berlin state commission against violence. Since the beginning of 2025, BAG RelEx has been a co-partner, together with IFAK e. V., ufuq.de and modus|zad gGmbH, of the KN:IX connect network.

• BAG RelEx founded as a non-profit organisation by 25 civil society organisations.

• BAG RelEx becomes a co-partner of the KN:IX connect network together with IFAK e. V., ufuq.de and modus|zad gGmbH.

• Board re-elected in its existing composition for a further two years.

• Association reports 39 member organisations.

A non-partisan, non-denominational national umbrella and advocacy platform connecting civil society prevention and deradicalisation actors with politics, media, academia and the public in Germany.

• policy:brief series

  Policy briefs published in German and English on topics such as the end of Generation Islam and Realität Islam, and online prevention.

• KN:IX reports and analyses

  Reports, analyses and impulses from the KN:IX network, including the KN:IX Report 2024 and 2023.

• Ligante — specialist debates from prevention work

  A publication series featuring specialist debates from prevention work.

• Online prevention framework and standards

  Publication on framework conditions and standards for digital Islamism prevention.

1. 1Religious extremism: educate against radicalisation I BAG RelExbag-relex.de
2. 2Statutory framework | BAG RelExbag-relex.de
3. 3Publications | BAG RelExbag-relex.de
4. 4Media Center | BAG RelExbag-relex.de
5. 5Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft religiös begründeter Extremismuswikidata.org
6. 6Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft religiös begründeter Extremismusde.wikipedia.org