Rafik

Radical, fundamentalist, different – professionals in contact

Specialists in the normal structures of child and youth welfare regularly come into contact with children from homes that are religiously radicalized, fundamentalist or undemocratically oriented. Or they come into contact with children and young people who are already radicalized themselves. These professionals are often faced with the conflictual question of how they should behave and position themselves. Their actions and statements as representatives of authorities or so-called "public" aid interact with the personal perceptions of the people concerned and become interdependent.

The RaFiK project intends to investigate these attitudes and orientations of action in dealing with different types of extremism and undemocratic milieus - and how professionals balance practical and ethical dilemmas in the context of child welfare and freedom of religion or opinion.

Interdisciplinary focus groups involving related fields (school, family courts, disability assistance, police, child and youth psychiatry) discuss whether and how they deal with religious or political issues, whether and how they explicitly express their own views, and when and how they draw on the discourse and approaches of experts in the field of prevention of radicalization. The discussions should enable a comparison with approaches and attitudes to different forms of extremism.

The research project aims to use the interdisciplinary findings to build bridges between the specialized field of working with extremism and the regulatory structures. Research findings and a thesis paper derived from them are to be discussed in a broad-based process among the specialist public of the various groups of actors and transferred into processes in which recommendations for action are drawn up and structures established.

Expert reports and recommendations for action

The work in RaFiK has resulted in three publications (in german): a brochure with recommendations for action for professionals in child and youth welfare, a legal expertise on the religious neutrality requirement, and an expertise on approaches and offers for prevention and intervention in the area of Islamic-based extremism. All three brochures can also be ordered in print.

Duration

March 2019 to February 2022

In cooperation with