On September 16, Germany temporarily tightened border controls, upsetting its EU neighbors. Home Secretary Nancy Feather said the move was aimed not only at curbing illegal migration but also at stopping "Islamic terrorism and threats".

This news came after a stabbing incident in Solingen, Germany. A Syrian refugee who has been denied asylum and is facing deportation has been charged with the attack.

Some may be surprised that such a brutal measure is the initiative of a liberal-left coalition of social democrats, greens and liberals. The reality is that right-wing and Islamophobia are on the rise in all political circles in Germany.

Analysts have pointed to the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (Alternative für Deutschland – AFD) party as a driver of the rightward shift. In fact, the party is making significant progress at the national and state levels. At the beginning of the month, he won the elections in the eastern state of Thuringia with 32.8 percent of the vote. In the state of East Saxony, it came second with 30.6 percent of the vote, just 1.3 percentage points behind the AfD's Christian Democrats.

But AFD's victory in the elections is not only due to Islamophobia. The increasing vilification and blaming of Muslims in German politics also worked in their favor.

Members of the ruling coalition have repeatedly condemned "Islamism" in Germany. Katharina Droge, the leader of the Green Party in the Bundestag, went so far as to claim in a statement that "the poison of Islam is taking over the minds of people not only abroad, but also in Germany." He later added that he meant "Islamism" instead of "Islam".

Warning words about the "Islamic threat" have not only become the main topic of German politicians, but also appear in official documents and political statements of German institutions. For example, the website of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the main domestic intelligence agency, has the following points:

"The Islamists want to destroy the free democratic system of the Federal Republic of Germany by appealing to their religion."

The Bavarian branch of this federal agency went further, introducing the concept of "legal Islamism" on its website, describing it as "pursuing extremist goals through political means within the framework of the existing legal system." They claim that "legalist Islamists try to influence politics and society through lobbying and present themselves as open, tolerant and open to communication with the outside world."

In essence, through this concept, any Muslim group that is politically or socially organized and conducts its activities within the framework of the law can be prosecuted. It characterizes any expression of tolerance or openness by Muslims as suspect because it could amount to a "legal Islamic claim."

Using these concepts as a framework, various institutions at the state and federal levels have created Muslim-only "de-radicalization" programs.

As one such program, the Bavarian Network for Prevention and Combating Radicalization recently produced a video titled "Salafi Radicalism" that depicts the racist exploitation of Muslim women by alleged Muslim men.

The video was released on social media earlier this month by the Bavarian state government, which is now controlled by the conservative Christian Social Union (XSI).

The publication decision made it clear that German authorities see Muslims as a danger to society.

After protests, the video was removed and the Ministry of the Interior issued a statement to the media, apologizing for "upheaval and misunderstandings" and adding that the video only referred to "Salafis" and did not condemn Muslims in general. He also promised that some scenes in the video will be "revised".

The Bavarian government's decision came after some commentators said the content of the video was too similar to Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda. In particular, a bearded, ugly-looking man devouring a woman is very close to the Nazi vision of a Jewish man devouring ethnic Germans.

As Israeli-German philosopher Moshe Zuckerman has written, Islamophobia is a projection of indefinable anti-Semitism.

The sentiments reflected in Germany's old anti-Semitism can no longer be expressed publicly because of the state's official acceptance of philo-Semitism. That is why they express their anger through Islamophobia. They can now do what they cannot do against a Jew against a Muslim.

A historical parallel is hidden here: the rise of far-right forces, resulting in racist hysteria spreading throughout the German state and society. History may not repeat itself completely, mass extermination may be replaced by mass exile. Because the far-right concept of "remigration" is spreading rapidly in the country.

German politicians, who belong to different categories but are united by the Islamophobia movement, should not forget the fate of their ancestors who did the same thing almost a century ago. Hate is never a strategy for success.

Fareed Hafez, lead researcher on The Bridge initiative at Georgetown University