A recruiter for the Islamic State militant group has described democracy as for "infidels" and asserted that a "real Muslim" is interested only in "what Islam says", in a rare interview with a German publication.
A 30-year-old man identified as Abu Sattar told Germany's Der Spiegel online: "Democracy is a hegemonic tool of the West and contrary to Islam. Why do you act as though the entire world needs democracy?"
Abu Sattar, based in Turkey, was recommended for the interview by a number of IS members, according to the German publication, which says the man was responsible for "several dozen" young men joining Islamic State, with men who had battlefield experience from conflicts such as Chechnya or Afghanistan who were "particularly highly valued".
"Democracy is for infidels," said the man, who identified himself as Arab but spoke with a British accent. "A real Muslim is not a democrat because he doesn't care about the opinions of majorities and minorities don't interest him. He is only interested in what Islam says," the publication reported.
Asked if the typical recruit tended to be people who felt like they didn't belong and finally see an opportunity to live out their fantasies of power, the recruiter answered: "It is not true that only those people come to us who have experienced no success in life. Among them are many people who have university degrees, people who were well-established. But they all see the inequities that we Muslims have long experienced and want to fight against them."
The radical views expressed on democracy come days after a rally of thousands of right-wing German football hooligans against Islamic extremism in Cologne left 44 riot police injured. The rally, organised through social media, drew together skinheads and far-right football fans. Germany, Europe's largest democracy, has long been home to a large Turkish community. Earlier in October, German-based Kurds and radical Muslims clashed during protests in Hamburg.
Islamic State, also known as ISIL and ISIS, has dominated news in recent months after its military victories in central and northern Iraq and eastern Syria. The Sunni group combines terror tactics and military battlefield discipline with the stated goal of establishing a global caliphate, or state under Islamic rule headed by a "commander of the faithful".
When confronted with the notion that IS's extreme views on democracy and human rights were casting suspicion on "all Muslims" worldwide, Abu Sattar laughed and asked: "So? Are they speaking out against us? I think we enjoy much more support than you would like to believe."
The militant recruiter endorsed the idea that all Muslims should take sides and added: "We go even a step further: All people should disclose whether they submit to Allah or not. Those who are against us are our enemies and must be fought. That includes people who call themselves Muslims but who don't lead their lives as such - people who drink, who don't pray, who don't fast, who have constantly changing partners and who are unable to recite the Koran."
Mat Hardy, Geelong-based lecturer in Middle East Studies at Deakin University, said democracy is incompatible with the beliefs of Muslim extremists - but by no means do they hold mainstream views on the world.
"It's a completely narrow and fundamentalist mindset," he said.
Dr Hardy said that in the wake of the Arab Spring, there has been a bit of rejection of democracy in places like egypt because they fear a takeover by Islamists.
Worldwide research conducted by Pew Research summed up findings on the topic in 2013 by saying that "most Muslims around the world express support for democracy, and most say it is a good thing when others are very free to practice their religion."
