According to a SPIEGEL report on racist agitation by anti-Semitism expert Irfan Peci, the state ministry in Baden-Württemberg wants to show firmness. One had contacted Peci after reporting immediately and confronted with the allegations, informed the anti-Semitism commissioner of the state government Michael Blume on SPIEGEL request. He accepted Peci's offer to suspend his membership in a consultative body until the allegations were clarified, Blume said. The racist comments Peci denied in the conversation.
More in the SPIEGEL
Issue 44/2019
From 100 to zero
Ideless, lethargic, anxious: Is the German automotive industry as a prosperity engine still to save?Digital Edition | Printed issues | Apps | SUBSCRIPTION
SPIEGEL had reported that Irfan Peci, a member of Blum's anti-Semitism expert council, hounded massively against minorities in private chats and voice messages from July and August. Confronted with the remarks, Peci said he could not remember saying such a thing. In general, voice messages could also be manipulated. However, there are no indications for the SPIEGEL.
Author, expert and media darling
Irfan Peci, first an Islamist and head of an al-Quaida propaganda platform, then a V-man for the protection of the constitution, is now a book author and media darling. After being exposed as a spy, Peci wrote a book with two "Stern" journalists in 2015 and became a sought-after interlocutor. He sat in the talk round of Markus Lanz, the ZDF made a 45-minute documentary about him.
There were also lectures, interviews and engagements in state-funded projects in the area of extremism prevention. In public, he appears as a specialist in the topics of terrorism, prevention and deradicalization.
More at SPIEGEL +
Up to the SPIEGEL report about his Hetztiraden Peci was active also in said expert advice of the anti-Semitism representative flower. The honorable committee was founded by the provincial government in Stuttgart and consists of "about 20 Jewish and non-Jewish experts from science, associations and civil society" together. However, according to SPIEGEL information, responsible agencies had already known about the racist allegations against Peci for more than two months.
"We have (...) no opportunity to follow up on the facts"
According to the e-mail of a whistle-blower to Michael Blume, which is the SPIEGEL, the Ministry of State was informed in mid-August both about the racist content and the history of the communication Irfan Pecis. However, this did not seem to have any substantive consequences.
Although a few weeks ago a conversation between Blume and Peci should have taken place in which Peci denied the allegations. However, Blume did not see any further explanation. Please understand that "within the framework of the Ministry of State, we have no way of following up the matter," a specialist speaker responded to the informant on 5 September.
In a statement Michael Blume told SPIEGEL-request, they had taken the hints of the tipster in August, although seriously. The informant but asked for discretion. He also belongs as an anti-Semitism officer to the executive and not to the judiciary. Therefore, he was entitled to "no prosecution or civil clarification". Why this should be an obstacle to a member of his own advisory board, Blume did not explain.