On Hamburg city tours it is still a destination like many others: the Blue Mosque on the Outer Alster. It is advertised by hop-on hop-off tours as an “oriental beauty in the middle of Hamburg”. High minarets, blue domed roof: the mosque is one of the oldest and probably also the most well-known in Germany. But it has also long been one of the most controversial.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been monitoring the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), to which the Blue Mosque belongs, for many years. According to the domestic secret service, the center is targeting Islamist efforts against the free and democratic basic order. It is one of the most important outposts of the Iranian regime in Germany and even a central propaganda center for all of Europe. German authorities had expelled the center’s deputy chief last year. According to Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD), he is said to have supported terrorist organizations and terrorist financiers. The center defends itself in court against the classification of the protection of the constitution.
But these days the pressure on the IZH is growing massively. “The Islamic Center in Hamburg must be closed quickly,” demands Green Party leader Omid Nouripour. The case is with the Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) for examination, says Nouripour. And he leaves no doubt that he sees the time for a decision as coming and wants more commitment from Faeser. Germany must resolutely push back the influence of the Iranian regime in this country, says the Green Party leader.
Last November, the Bundestag passed a motion by the three coalition factions on the situation in Iran. It was entitled: “Support protest movement in Iran – increase pressure on the regime in Tehran.” The tone of the application is very clear, for example it mentions the “inhuman Iranian regime”. And the federal government is given orders. However, some of them are only of a general nature – others merely test orders. One of them is “to examine whether and how the ‘Islamic Center Hamburg’ as the hub of the Iranian regime’s operations in Germany can be closed”.
“Close the booth!” Says the Union
Even then, all of this was not enough for the Union faction. Unfortunately, Germany only imposes “mini-sanctions,” complained Norbert Röttgen (CDU) in the debate. And Thomas Erndl (CSU) said that you don’t have to check anything at the IZH anymore, that has been observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution for years. The federal government must therefore immediately work for a closure, “real action” is necessary. The CDU MP Peter Beyer summed up the attitude of his parliamentary group in an interjection: “Shut up with the booth!”
That was more than three months ago. But little has happened since then. The “booth” is still open. This annoys not only the Union, but also the Greens enormously. The IZH is a “central spy nest,” Nouripour warns. From there the intimidation of the opposition in exile is organized.
The domestic spokeswoman for the Greens in the Bundestag, Lamya Kaddor, therefore called on Tuesday for the responsible authorities to act more quickly. “In Germany there are a number of Islamic centers and organizations run by Iranians who are loyal to the government, with the help of which Iran is trying to influence the Shiites of various nationalities living here,” said Kaddor Süddeutsche Zeitung. Iranians would report attempts at intimidation and harassment. “As far as we know, these findings are available to the relevant authorities,” said Kaddor. The conditions for the closure – and thus a ban on the Hamburg club – should thus be in place. “We expect Federal Interior Minister Faeser to do this in a timely manner.”
But the Interior Ministry reacted cautiously on Tuesday. In principle, the competent authorities “keep a close eye on any illegitimate activities by foreign state actors and do not tolerate them,” said a spokeswoman. However, the ministry generally does not comment on the idea of banning clubs – “regardless of whether there is reason for such considerations in individual cases”. Because otherwise there would be a risk that those affected could adjust their behavior accordingly and measures could be thwarted.
And what does the IZH say about all this? At the request of the SZ, it complains that it is the object of “baseless allegations”. “The desire to close a place of worship reminds us of a dark time in Germany,” the center wrote in a statement. The Blue Mosque is a place “of interreligious and intercultural exchange”. One should therefore not let “aspiring politicians who want to distinguish themselves dictate how one works with society”.
In the Union, people are extremely annoyed about such declarations. The IZH is “a hub for the operations of Iran’s Islamic regime in Germany,” says Roderich Kiesewetter, chairman of the Union faction in the Foreign Affairs Committee, of the SZ. “The Blue Mosque and its members are rightly being watched by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution,” because “they pose a threat to Iranian opposition figures in Germany.” The Union is therefore demanding “that the Islamic Center Hamburg is finally closed” and that criminal prosecutions for secret service activities “be examined against its members”. That would then “also send a strong signal to Iranian civil society.”