Germany’s domestic intelligence chief has warned that children growing up in Islamist families in Germany may pose a risk to society. Conservative politicians say authorities should be allowed to monitor kids under 14.

Children from Islamist households in Germany represent a “not insignificant potential threat,” the head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Hans-Georg Maassen said Monday.

In a new report cited by the Funke media group, the BfV said there were signs the “radicalization of minors and young adults” was becoming more likely and happening faster and earlier.

The BfV document estimated that some 300 children in Germany were affected. Children in some of these families are “educated from birth with an extremist world view that legitimizes violence against others and degrades those who aren’t part of their group,” the report said.

It expressed concerns about families who had traveled to war zones in the Middle East, as well as those who had remained in Germany.

Maassen warned that what he described as the ongoing jihadist socialization of children was “alarming” and would pose a significant challenge to authorities in the coming years.

Read more: Can foreign ‘Islamic State’ fighters’ kids return to Europe?

read more at dw.com