Press
Expert Mahmoud Jaraba says that society has a false image of so-called clans: there are much more complex structures behind the extended families.
Berlin – If so-called criminal clans and the Italian mafia have one thing in common, it is the tendency to create myths. Numerous clichés and legends surround both criminal phenomena.
While the Mafia is considered to be quite well researched, there are relatively few scientists who deal explicitly with clan structures. One of them is Mahmoud Jaraba. The Political scientist has been researching Arab, Turkish and Kurdish extended families since 2015is considered a renowned expert on the subject. And he makes it clear: the security authorities must fundamentally revise their image of clans. Because they function completely differently than previously assumed.
“The police portrayal of crime from ethnically isolated subcultures is misleading,” Jaraba said at a conference of the Media Service Integration in Berlin. Parts of the extended families do indeed live in a kind of subculture with regard to certain social and cultural aspects. But where family members commit crimes or even organised crime occurs, it is precisely not one can speak of isolation. “On the contrary, an extremely strong networking within the majority society and with other foreign actors can be observed here,” says the scientist.
Clan crime: connections to businessmen and lawyers
According to the report, clan criminals not only establish connections with other criminal groups, but also with business people, lawyers and influential people in the cultural sector in order to expand their criminal activities. “Some members of these criminal networks are also extremely active on social media platforms,” says Jaraba. “By regularly posting pictures and posts, they show themselves in order to expand their networks and attract potential partners or customers.”
This is consistent with the observations of the security authorities. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution in North Rhine-Westphalia, for example, criminal actors in the scene are now allying themselves with radical Islamist Salafists. Together they make videos to appeal to young people in particular on TikTok.
Clan is not a unit: crime only within sub-clans
However, the public misperception is also due to the fact that clans are often portrayed as a unit, says Jaraba. The structure of extended families is much more complex and has changed significantly over the decades. A hundred years ago, each clan was still manageable, with a central family leadership. “Today, many clans are up to 15 generations old,” explains the political scientist. “They have differentiated themselves into numerous subcategories.”
The term clan crime
► When people talk about criminal clans in Germany, they often mean criminal members of extended families with Kurdish-Lebanese roots. Most people from these families are not criminals. However, a few subclans have joined together to form groups that commit crimes in the area of organized crime.
► Many belong to the so-called Mhallami, an ethnic group of Arab origin. Their ancestors were expelled from Turkey after the First World War and then came to Lebanon. When civil war broke out there (1975 to 1990), many of the families fled to Germany.
► As stateless people, many were given tolerated status and were unable to pursue regular work. Experts believe that the lack of prospects is a reason why individuals have joined criminal groups.
► Scientists like Mahmoud Jaraba are critical of the term “clan” in this context. But: “It doesn’t help to solve the problem if we argue about terminology.” It is important to use the term in a differentiated way and not to refer to an entire extended family.
► According to information provided by the Interior Ministries of Lower Saxony, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia to the Media Service Integration, the phenomenon is not generally considered to be organized crime (OC). However, experts see tendencies that individual criminal groups are developing more towards OC.
In Arabic, there are terms for the complicated lines of descent: “Hamula” means the superior branch of the family, “Fakhdh” the sub-family branch and “Bayt” the sub-sub-family branch, which usually includes up to a hundred people. “The members of the extended families often do not know each other, but maintain close contact primarily within their Bayt,” says Jaraba. And if criminal networks do form, then only within such sub-sub-clans.
First theft, then fraud, extortion and drug trafficking
In the late 1980s, some of them began to commit thefts. One possible reason: many of those affected had not had a work permit for years and lived in precarious conditions with no prospects. Over time, they joined together to form groups that regularly participate in fraud, extortion, money laundering, violent intimidation of witnesses, robbery and the import and distribution of drugs.
The spectacular thefts from the Green Vault in Dresden a few years ago or the theft of the gold coin from the Bode Museum in Berlin show how well organized the criminal sub-clans are. In criminological terms, they can definitely be classified as “family-based crime.” “The characteristics of this type of crime: the family members are well connected at home and abroad,” explains Jaraba.
“Politics of 1000 pinpricks” leads to stigmatization
But: “The vast majority of family members reject crime and want a targeted and effective fight against crime,” the expert stresses. The “policy of 1000 pinpricks,” which has been propagated in NRW for years, for example, is leading to stigmatization – because all family members are tarred with the same brush. “Dozens of my interviews with family members show that they are sharply critical of their family’s criminal activities and demand that the state take consistent action against these people. But only against them and not against the entire family.”
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