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As voters in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg prepare to go to the polls in September, minority groups are expressing concern about a possible rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

In the upcoming state elections, the AfD could achieve its strongest result yet; in Thuringia, the party is polling at around 30 percent.

Majid Albunni, a Syrian refugee who took German citizenship after fleeing the war in 2013, is one of those raising concerns.

Albunni, who is looking forward to voting in future elections, is urging others to speak out against the rise of the AfD. “Those who don’t like these ideas, or at least I know they don’t like them, are silent about it and that is disappointing,” Albunni said. “We need to be active as pro-democracy actors, we need to really show that we are the majority, and I believe we are the majority.”

The Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee has also published a brochure detailing the AfD’s anti-Semitic ideology and its links to extremism.

Despite assurances from other political parties not to form coalitions with the AfD, the committee warns that there are still risks. “Perhaps after the state elections we will see that it will be very difficult for the other parties to form a coalition without the AfD,” said Remko Leemhuis, director of the Berlin office of the American Jewish Committee. “That could mean a blocked political system without a functioning government.”

The Central Council of Jews in Germany shared these fears and emphasized the nationwide impact of the state elections: “The extreme right is politically networked and strives for political power. This makes them particularly dangerous for our liberal democracy and thus also for Jewish life,” said Nils Lange, spokesman for the council.

A threat to the whole of Europe

Beyond local and national politics, the AfD’s policies could have far-reaching consequences.

The party has proposed holding a referendum on Germany’s exit from the European Union. Gokay Sofuoglu, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, believes that this step could threaten the entire European system. “The AfD is an anti-Semitic, anti-Islamic and anti-democratic party. It is also the party that denies fascism and the Holocaust,” Sofuoglu explained.

The debate about migration and refugees, a central theme in the AfD’s program, has been reignited by recent events, including a deadly attack in the western German city of Solingen, allegedly carried out by a Syrian citizen.

The AfD quickly used the incident for its election campaign, but Albunni remains hopeful: “I still believe that German society is well educated and can distinguish between an extremist individual and a group of people,” he said.

As the elections draw closer, warnings from minority groups underscore the serious implications this outcome could have for both Germany and Europe as a whole.