Islamism is one of the greatest challenges facing democracy today. Not because Islamist groups necessarily threaten violence, but because the aim of Islamist movements is always to establish a state that is governed according to Islamic law. Young people are specifically recruited; quite a few end up becoming radicals. Islamist movements use democratic freedoms with the aim of ultimately abolishing precisely this democracy and freedom. In such a state, women's rights and the rights of those who think differently only exist within the framework of Sharia law. This makes Islamism a politically extremist ideology. Over five evenings, the lecture series “Dimensions of Islamism in Society and State” aims to shed light on the ways in which Islamist forces are effective in state and society and what counter-strategies and solutions could look like.