Islamic Center Hamburg
CDU interior expert: “Many politicians were too naive when dealing with this organization”
At the center of the investigation: the so-called Blue Mosque on Hamburg’s Outer Alster
© Daniel Bockwoldt / DPA
The “Islamic Center Hamburg” has been run by the for years Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified as Islamist. The organization’s premises were now searched there and nationwide. Significantly too late, criticizes Hamburg CDU MP Dennis Gladiator.
Early on Thursday morning, more than hundreds of police forces searched the area Imam Ali Mosque and others Building of the “Islamic Center Hamburg” (IZH) in seven federal states. According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the organization is suspected of opposing to address the constitutional order and the idea of international understanding. The association is considered an extension of the Iranian regime and is also said to support the pro-Iranian Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah from Lebanon.
From the defense of Constitution The IZH has been observed for a long time and classified as Islamist. Politicians from various parties are calling for a ban. According to Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote, today’s searches would have taken a significant step closer to this. Meanwhile, a mixed conclusion is being heard from the opposition.
The CDUPolitician Dennis Gladiator welcomes the raid, but is surprised at the timing. Gladiator is a specialist spokesman for the Hamburg Christian Democrats for internal affairs, the protection of the constitution and anti-Semitism. In an interview with the star He accuses the federal government and the red-green Senate of naivety and not enough emphasis. The evidence for a ban process has been on the table for years.
The police are against this Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH). Officials searched 54 buildings in seven federal states, including the Blue Mosque on Hamburg’s Outer Alster, which serves as the center of the IZH. Did this raid come as a surprise to you?
Of course, I didn’t know beforehand that the raid was carried out today. However, the searches due to the ban procedure were anything but surprising.
How do you assess the searches of the Blue Mosque and other IZH premises?
The IZH is undoubtedly proven to be the long arm of Iran’s anti-Semitic mullah regime, which wants to wipe Israel off the map. The IZH itself has spread anti-Semitic ideology, hatred and incitement in our city for a long time. All of this has been known for years. Many politicians have been too naive in their dealings with this organization or have been unwilling to take action in accordance with our constitution. Nevertheless, I am glad that action has finally been taken.
How exactly can this connection to Iran be traced? Who finances the work of the IZH?
I am not allowed to say publicly everything that I might know as a member of a control committee. I would be surprised if the bodies currently running the ban process have no evidence of funding.
The CDU and the Greens had repeatedly pushed for a ban on the IZH since the spring. Why did it take so long?
We as the CDU parliamentary group in the Hamburg parliament have been calling for a ban procedure for much longer than the Greens. The fact that it took so long is because of the federal government. There was a lack of political will and emphasis from the SPD and the Greens in Hamburg and the federal government – but especially from Nancy Faeser. The Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution has long provided the information needed for a ban procedure. Apparently it took Hamas’s barbaric acts of terror to increase the pressure on federal politics. This is extremely questionable.
CDU interior expert Gladiator: “This is not about religion, but extremism”
However, the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution has had the IZH on its radar since the early 1990s. So aren’t there other reasons that make banning proceedings more difficult?
That is correct, we have been dealing with this issue in Hamburg for many years. The IZH was for a long time part of the Shura (Council of the Islamic Community in Hamburg, editor’s note). The Schura is a partner of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg within the framework of state treaties. This obviously makes a ban procedure extremely difficult for the SPD and the Greens. We as the CDU have been calling for a suspension of these contracts for years.
However, the IZH left the Shura last year after a long internal dispute. Wouldn’t a ban on the IZH have a positive impact on Iranian opposition members and Muslims who are being put under pressure in this country?
A ban on the IZH will particularly benefit Muslims who live peacefully in Hamburg and have nothing to do with political Islam. I would like to emphasize very clearly: This is not about religion, but about political extremism and anti-Semitism.
What do you expect for the further course of the ban proceedings?
First of all, I hope that further evidence could be secured during today’s operation. By delaying the ban process for so long, those affected finally had enough time to make the incriminating material disappear. I assume that the evidence that is already available is clear enough. My expectation is that the evaluation will be carried out carefully in accordance with the rule of law and that a ban will be enforced quickly. The IZH must disappear from Hamburg. There is no place for anti-Semites here.