Alcohol and drug consumption Alcohol

The majority of the interviewees – the sole exception being the Islamist-oriented group – admitted to having had severe active or passive alcohol problems already for a prolonged period of time, the most problematic alcohol consumption occurring among the prisoners and their families. Their alcohol abuse frequently entailed negative consequences such as, for instance, problems at school, the loss of

apprenticeships and jobs, the breaking up of relationships and acquisitive crime. Many of the subjects reported having exerted violence under the influence of alcohol, for example when they had “a lot of stress at home [...] occasionally [...] a good spanking” (Ri12, militant radical) or things escalated so far “that I immediately hit them. This was mostly because of this schnapps” (Ri24, militant radical).

Only one interviewee labelled himself as an“alcoholic”(Ri07, militant radical) whereas all the others preferred paraphrasing their condition as “a minor alcohol problem” (Ri18, person with extremist inclinations) even when conceding that their alcohol consumption dominated their everyday lives:

“I came back home in the morning, right. I turned in and slept until two or three p.m., had a bite, tidied my flat. [...] Maybe went shopping. I didn’t drink right then, it wasn’t like that, [...]

that was somewhere between three, five, six p.m. and then I would start again [...] then the drinking started as usual until there was no money left or you couldn’t take it no more or so.

Drinking, drinking, and then the fighting went on no end, [...] every day, [...] well, I sure got into brawls five, six times a day.”(Ri19, pseudo-extremist)

Almost none of the interviewees considered their alcohol consumption a problem. If they talked about alcohol-related problems at all, they usually referred to the penal consequences (e. g. the legal consequences entailed by acquisitive crime or violent offences). Dysfunctional coping strategies ensued: Instead of trying to reduce their alcohol consumption and actively tackle its causes they preferred employing conflict-evasion methods like e. g. steering clear of potential victims of violence or conflict-prone spots.

What is more, it became evident that the right wing oriented individuals were also likely to start drinking at a very young age. Some of them had begun to consume alcohol and cigarettes even at primary school age. Negligence and a lack of parental control frequently played a role in this context, as one interviewee reported who had suffered his first alcohol poisoning at the age of nine: He“was in a drunken stupor for the first time at the age of two”(Ri08, active extremist) when after a New Year’s Eve party he had drained the glasses of remaining alcoholic drinks. Another interviewee said that every day he and his schoolmates“went to school nicely pissed” even at the age of seven (Ri21, active extremist). Excessive alcohol consumption resulting in addiction mostly started at the age of 13 or 14 years. Most interviewees subjectively saw a close connection between taking up drinking – with the subsequent escalation – and their cliques, as heavy drinking and“partying”affirmed and consolidated their belonging within the group. We did not discover a comparably excessive consumption of alcohol among the left wing oriented group.

Alcohol was an issue of importance also for the Islamist-oriented individuals, two thirds of whom (4) reported never having consumed any alcohol at all. Almost all said that their abstinence had led to conflicts between them and their peers or that these had teased them (5). One interviewee even said that he had been forced by his classmates to drink a sip of alcohol.

The Islamist-oriented group perceived the disputes over alcohol with their peers as religious discrimination. This is small wonder if we remember that their abstinence was principally motivated by religious, not personal concerns. If they reported alcohol consumption at all, they said they had been drinking it before (re-) discovering Islam, (re-) interpreting it as a temptation by the devil.

We need to remember by way of conclusion that the presence of a Muslim interviewer – consciously or subconsciously – induced the Islamist-oriented group to authentically and vigorously act theperfect Muslim, overemphasising in this context their compliance with religious rules (like e. g. the ban on alcohol) even though they may in fact have consumed/consume alcohol. This, however, may very likely be nothing more than a pattern of argumentation that they used to enhance their self-worth, for

they primarily mentioned alcohol consumption in connection with classifying Muslims as “good” or

“bad” because“only [...] a true Muslim is able to resist these temptations”(Iu04, inactive extremist).

Illicit drugs

All study groups mentioned illicit drugs in addition to legal drugs. Both consuming and dealing in narcotics played a role in this context and included the entire range from hard drugs to so-called soft drugs like e. g. tetrahydrocannabinol (THC, “smoking pot”). Consumption patterns ranged from abstinence to testing and experimental consumption through to daily consumption controlling everyday life. In some cases acquisitive crime was a concomitant of the consumption especially of illicit drugs.

The interviewees also reported committing acts of violence under the influence of drugs. This was especially true for members of the hooligan scene. A total of six prisoners (three left and three right wing oriented individuals each) admitted to having been heroin addicts, and many others – in particular left and right wing individuals – described a pattern of drug abuse involving a variety of drugs which they used regularly and purposefully in order to structure and cope with their everyday lives, taking different kinds of drugs in the daytime to “get high” and consuming sedatives to neutralise this effect before going to bed. While the consumption of so-called “soft” (e. g. cannabis) and party drugs (e. g. ecstasy) which – like alcohol – were well “established” in the groups (social drugs) was encouraged mainly by group dynamics, personal problems – which the addicts obviously hoped to be able to overcome by consuming drugs – invariably were at the root of heroin consumption. Such problems included family issues as well as to apprenticeship or job-related problems.

It was striking that – comparable to this group’s alcohol consumption habits – all prisoners had consumed their first drugs at a very young age. Some individuals had taken their first drugs in their later primary school years, but the majority of the prisoners concerned had started consuming illicit drugs approximately at the age of 13 years. By and large, the right wing oriented group had started taking drugs earlier than the other groups.

In addition to taking drugs themselves, the individuals also mentioned drug consumption by family members. We detected drug addiction problems in the (foster) families across all study groups, finding the most severe proportions among the left and right wing oriented individuals. The general question is whether there were indeed fewer drug-related problems in Muslim environments, or whether the Muslims merely had not mentioned them to the Muslim interviewers, preferring to give socially correct answers (cf. in this context the note on Muslims’ responses to questions regarding alcohol, p.

38). They also frequently refused to discuss in greater detail any hints on family-related problems.

The drug-dealing situation was different: All study groups reported drug dealing, regardless of their respective ideologies or status as prisoners or unreported cases. Above all the Islamist-oriented subjects conspicuously dated their experience with drugs (“possessed by the devil”) back to a time before they had been radicalised. While the right- and left wingers also started taking illicit drugs before joining the scene, they frequently did not stop afterwards but rather encountered social settings and strategies conducive to further consumption.