extremism
Lower Saxony takes action against Salafists and bans association
Police officers in front of one of the searched properties in Braunschweig. Photo
© dpa
The German-speaking Muslim Community Association used various channels to broadcast the appearances of Salafist preachers. This has now come to an end.
With the ban on the German-speaking Muslim Community (DMG) association in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony has taken action against the Islamist scene in Germany.
The association is therefore violating the constitutional order and the idea of international understanding. “We do not tolerate associations in which alleged non-believers, women or Jews as well as our social order as a whole are regularly devalued and calls are made to combat them,” said Lower Saxony’s Interior Minister, Daniela Behrens (SPD). “The ban on the DMG is a hard blow to the Salafist scene in Lower Saxony and beyond.”
Searches in Braunschweig and Berlin
In order to enforce the ban, police searched eight properties in Braunschweig and Berlin on Wednesday. According to Behrens, no arrests were made. The DMG’s assets were confiscated. In Berlin, according to dpa information, two private apartments were seized.
Wide spread of Salafist sermons
The association has been under surveillance by the Lower Saxony Office for the Protection of the Constitution for several years and, according to the Interior Ministry, has become increasingly radicalized. The organization reached a large number of young people via an online offering and social media. The appearances of nationally known Salafist preachers were broadcast on many channels. Their speeches had nothing to do with religion, but with hostility, hatred and incitement, it was said.