Politicians have long been calling for a ban on the association that sponsors the Blue Mosque in Hamburg. Evidence has now been seized during searches in several federal states.
With a major raid in seven federal states, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has targeted the “Islamic Center Hamburg” (IZH) and possible sub-organizations of the association.
More than 800 police forces searched dozens of objects early in the morning, including the well-known Blue Mosque in Hamburg. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, it is still unclear whether the investigation under association law against the IZH will ultimately result in a ban on the association.
The IZH has been the focus of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution for years, which classifies it as Islamist. In its current annual report, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that the IZH has “established a nationwide network of contacts within the numerous Shiite-Islamic mosques and associations.”
The Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that the association is suspected of going against the constitutional order and the idea of international understanding. The security authorities also investigated the suspicion that the association supports the activities of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah from Lebanon, which has been banned from operating in Germany since 2020. The center itself was confident that the searches would not reveal any reasons for a ban on the association.
Faeser: “We generally do not tolerate Islamist propaganda”
As the Federal Prosecutor’s Office announced, the Federal Criminal Police Office took action against suspected Hezbollah supporters in the Hanover area at the same time as the measures against the IZH. At the instigation of the Federal Prosecutor General, around 20 properties and club rooms were searched. The measures were aimed at five suspects who are said to be connected to the Lebanese Shiite militia. You are accused of membership in a foreign terrorist organization. There were no arrests.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) said: “Especially now, at a time when many Jews feel particularly threatened, the following applies: We generally do not tolerate Islamist propaganda or anti-Semitic and anti-Israel incitement.”
The Islamic Center Hamburg is considered an extension of the Iranian regime, which congratulated the Islamist Hamas on its attack on Israel and described it as a “turning point in the continuation of armed resistance.” Faeser explained about the searches: “We are not taking action against a religion or a state.” According to them, around 800 police officers nationwide were involved in the raid.
Floods in seven federal states
According to the information, objects in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia were searched early in the morning. A statement from the ministry said that the activities of the IZH, which is responsible for the Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg, were “aimed at spreading the revolutionary concept of the Supreme (Iranian) leaders, which is suspected of being against the constitutional order in Germany and the idea of international understanding”. The investigators are also reportedly looking at accounts. Since there is currently no ban on associations, no money has been confiscated. According to Faeser, cell phones, computers and documents, among other things, were seized. According to her ministry, no one offered any resistance.
Three properties in Munich were also searched. The focus was on possible connections between the Islamic Association of Bavaria (IVB) and the IZH. According to the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the IZH is said to have repeatedly sent imams to the IVB in Munich in recent years. In addition, the Munich association’s statutes stipulate that the assets should go to the IZH in the event of a dissolution.
Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel basic attitude
According to the ministry, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution not only keeps an eye on the activities in the Hamburg facility, also known as the Blue Mosque, but also assumes that the IZH “exercises great influence on certain mosques and clubs, up to complete control.” An anti-Semitic and anti-Israel attitude is often evident within these circles, the statement said. An eyewitness said that more than 30 personnel carriers drove up to the Blue Mosque on the Alster in the darkness early on Thursday morning. In Frankfurt am Main, the police went to the “Center for Islamic Culture Frankfurt”.
The American Jewish Committee Berlin welcomed the measures against the IZH and its environment. “The mullah regime spreads its anti-Semitic, Islamist, homophobic and misogynistic ideology through its propaganda institutions and structures in Germany and represents a real danger to the Jewish community as well as opposition members, Kurds and other minorities in this country,” it said Notice.
