Nationwide raids

Germany strikes a blow against inflammatory mosques

(Bild: AFP)

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser has banned an Islamist association active throughout Germany which, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, is an "important propaganda center of Iran in Europe". Raids were carried out throughout Germany.

To enforce the ban order against the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) and five sub-organizations, police officers searched the Islamic Centre Hamburg (IZH) with the Imam Ali Mosque as well as other buildings in a total of eight federal states on Wednesday morning.

As a direct representative of the Iranian "revolutionary leader", the IZH is spreading the ideology of the so-called "Islamic Revolution" in Germany in an aggressive and militant manner, according to a statement from the German Ministry of the Interior.

Faeser: Not acting against a religion
"It is very important to me to make a clear distinction: We are not acting against a religion," Faeser emphasized. The peaceful Shiite practice of faith and religion is expressly not affected by the ban. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the "Leader of the Revolution", the official spiritual leader of Iran.

The mosque in Hamburg is considered a "propaganda center of Iran".

(Bild: AFP)

Faeser's ministry announced that a total of four Shiite mosques would be closed as a result of the ban. There are an estimated 150 to 200 Shiite communities in Germany. According to the announcement, raids were carried out in connection with the ban in a total of 53 properties in Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria.

According to Faeser, the serious suspicions had been confirmed following the extensive search measures directed against the IZH last November. The ideology of the association was directed against women's rights, an independent judiciary and the democratic German state.

Dozens of police officers deployed
"In addition, the 'Islamic Center Hamburg' and its sub-organizations support the terrorists of Hizb Allah and spread aggressive anti-Semitism," explained the minister. The American Jewish Committee Berlin welcomed the ban.

Statement by the German Interior Minister Faeser:

Dozens of police officers cordoned off the Blue Mosque in Hamburg early this morning. According to a reporter from the German Press Agency, they began searching the Shiite place of worship. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the association that runs the mosque as extremist and controlled by Iran. According to a dpa reporter, several police officers stormed the building of a Shiite association in Berlin at around the same time.

Iranian influence in Austria too
In Austria, the Documentation Center for Political Islam (DPI) recently warned of Iran's activities abroad. "Iran is also a central player in political Islam in Austria and will remain so," said DPI Deputy Director Ferdinand Haberl at a press conference in Vienna last week. Specifically, Haberl commented on the Imam Ali Center in Vienna-Floridsdorf: This appears to be a "branch office" of Iran and has personnel overlaps with the highest Iranian government level.