The Taliban have launched an internship program at Afghanistan’s consulate general in the German city of Bonn, a move that has alarmed opponents of the regime living in Germany.
On the surface, an internship at a diplomatic institution can seem like an entirely appealing opportunity. The consulate general’s website promises “work in a multilingual and intercultural environment,” the chance to “gain professional experience at a diplomatic mission,” and exposure to “consular law and public administration.”
The announcement states that “students, university graduates, and other interested applicants” are welcome to apply, including men, women, and people of other genders.
The listing has been live on the consulate’s website since last week. The complication, however, is significant: since October of last year, the hardline Islamist Taliban have effectively controlled the consulate’s operations. Berlin granted diplomatic accreditation to two consular staff members from Afghanistan last year, making Germany the only European Union member state to have accepted Taliban representatives as diplomats.
One of those two diplomats has since taken effective leadership of the Bonn mission. The Taliban’s move to recruit interns has done more than unsettle the community of people from Afghanistan living in Germany. Many view the polished, contemporary language of the announcement as deliberate misdirection.
Patoni Teichmann, a German-Afghan human rights activist, says the Taliban’s system has always been built on exactly this kind of recruitment and grooming of young people. “When the Taliban institutionally recruit young people in Europe, build networks, and establish a political presence, it is no longer simply about administration, consular affairs, or embassy work,” she said. “It is about building long-term spheres of influence. This must be stopped.”
German citizens are also eligible to apply, according to the listing. However, it notes that familiarity with Dari and Pashto is “very much welcomed,” making it clear that the primary target is people from Afghanistan living in Germany, particularly younger generations.
Ali Sina Ayoubi, a journalist from Afghanistan based in Germany, said he was shocked when he learned of the program. “I believe this is a time bomb, and the German government is allowing the Taliban to plant it right in the heart of their own society,” he said. “The Taliban are not simply a political group. They follow an ideology.”
Ayoubi says the intended audience of the offer is obvious. “You know very well the age range of people who typically apply for internships. Most of them are young people who are easily impressionable. Now imagine a young man, even one who does not hold a strict interpretation of Islam but identifies as a Muslim, walking into that environment, starting work, and gradually falling under the Taliban’s influence.”
According to Ayoubi, sympathy for the Taliban is not uncommon within parts of the Afghan community in Germany. Ties between the hardline Islamists at the consulate and regional community groups became visible last autumn, when a delegation turned out to welcome the Taliban’s representative. One attendee shared a photograph of the encounter on TikTok. The image showed men from the Rhineland region, some of whom belonged to an organization representing Pashtuns, the ethnic group from which the Taliban predominantly draw their ranks.
Teichmann says this is precisely the moment to draw a line. “Over 40 years, the Taliban managed to influence young men emotionally, religiously, and politically to the point where many were willing to give their lives as suicide attackers,” she said. “That is why I consider this genuinely dangerous.”
The Afghan consulate general in Bonn did not respond to a joint inquiry submitted by WDR and NDR regarding the internship program.
Note: This report is an adapted Persian-language version of a piece by Peter Hornung, originally published by German broadcaster WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk), and has been translated and republished here with the reporter’s consent.
You can read the Persian version of this report here:
