“Caliphate is the solution” – More than 1,000 Islamists take to the streets in Hamburg
Participants of the Islamist demonstration in Hamburg
Source: dpa/Axel Heimken
The group “Muslim Interaktiv” mobilized more than 1,000 people to an Islamist rally in Hamburg. The participants called for an end to the “dictatorship of values” and support for Israel. There is a kind of Islamist influencer behind the organizers.
vDevastating images from Hamburg: More than 1,000 people followed Islamists’ call for a demonstration on Steindamm in the St. Georg district on Saturday. There the participants then made their rejection of Germany clear.
Some participants brought signs with slogans such as “Caliphate is the solution” to the rally. “No to the dictatorship of values” was written on other banners. The rejection of liberal-democratic values also culminated in the battle cry “Stop the dictatorship of values”.
The demonstrators repeatedly chanted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) in response to speakers on a stage. Some participants waved flags depicting the Islamic creed, the Shahada. They also held up their index finger, the so-called tawheed finger. In Islam, this is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God, but is also used as a symbol by Islamists.
The group “Muslim Interactive” called for the rally. According to the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it is considered a confirmed extremist endeavor and is ideologically close to the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir, which wants to establish a caliphate based on Sharia law. The group is since 2003 banned from operating.
The leader is an Islamist influencer
The leader of the group is Joe Adade Boateng, who calls himself Raheem Boateng. According to a report by the “Hamburger Abendblatt” The 25-year-old is studying to be a teacher at Hamburg University, but on Instagram and TikTok he is a kind of Islamist influencer.
Boateng and “Muslim Interaktiv” are aimed specifically at young Muslims in Germany and address everyday problems such as discrimination. With the decision between German or Muslim, Koran or Basic Law, they then present the supposedly simple solution.
“Caliphate is the solution” was written by some participants on their posters
Source: dpa/Axel Heimken
Even against the backdrop of the Gaza war, Boateng and “Muslim Interaktiv” are mobilizing their supporters – and a few female supporters too. “Reason of state kills,” some participants in the demonstration wrote on their posters, accusing German politicians of being responsible for the deaths of civilians in Gaza by supporting Israel.
“Muslim Interaktiv” also shared videos of the rally on social networks, including on X, formerly Twitter.
The participants also worked on reporting on the Middle East conflict. “Bild”, WELT, “Spiegel”, “Focus” and the “Tagesschau” were accused on posters of being deaf, dumb and blind. A representative of “Muslim Interaktiv” previously called for a “demonstration against media incitement to Islam” on the Instagram channel.
The rally was secured by a large police presence. According to police, there were no incidents. The police put the number of participants at 1,100.
“Muslim Interaktiv” had already organized a demonstration in St. Georg at the end of October last year despite the ban. In February 2023, the group mobilized 3,500 people to a rally against a Koran burning in Sweden.
In November, Islamists marched through Essen in a large demonstration. This triggered a national political debate about whether opponents of the state and democracy were being given too much space.