Islamist terrorism remains a global threat beyond 2025

8 Januar 2026

Despite the current focus of German security and defence policy on national and alliance defence, the fight against Islamist terrorism must not be neglected, as its significance is likely to increase in the coming years. Embodied by groups such as the so-called Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaeda (AQ), Islamist terrorism remains a global threat – as the recent attack in Australia on Jewish celebrations by to IS-terrorist has shown. Currently, the centre of terrorist activity is in Africa, particularly in the Sahel region. New organisational structures, digital recruitment – including young people and women – and flexible attack tactics characterise contemporary Islamist terrorism. The Metis-Study by Eva Herschinger describes four scenarios for the near future: from securing local power to criminal hybrid forms to global attack planning and virtual caliphates.

The study can be downloaded here.

Picture: iStockphoto