There have been extensive raids since morning as part of investigations against the “Islamic Center Hamburg”. 54 properties in seven federal states were searched. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has been monitoring the association for a long time.
In seven federal states, security forces have carried out raids against the “Islamic Center Hamburg” (IZH) and five possible sub-organizations. As the Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin announced, a total of 54 properties in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia were searched. The focus was Hamburg, where the center runs the Blue Mosque on the Alster.
“The IZH is suspected of acting against the constitutional order and the idea of international understanding,” the ministry continued. An investigation under association law is currently underway. The security authorities also investigated the suspicion that the IZH was supporting the activities of the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, which are banned in Germany. The other associations are suspected of being sub-organizations of the IZH.
The Blue Mosque in Hamburg – a focus of the searches.
Faeser: “We have the Islamist scene in our sights”
The suspicions against the “Islamic Center Hamburg” are serious, said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD). “We have the Islamist scene in our sights,” she 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. Right now it is important to be highly vigilant and take tough action. That is why we are leaving Every reasonable suspicion will be investigated decisively.”
Faeser pointed out that the IZH had long been monitored by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as Islamist. According to the Interior Department, forces from the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the state police as well as the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Federal Police were involved in the searches and their preparation.
Hamburg’s Interior Senator: IZH’s time “clearly over”
Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote described the nationwide raids as a “hard blow.” The IZH’s time has “visibly come to an end,” said the SPD politician. “The faster the IZH as a whole disappears from Hamburg, the better. Today we are a lot closer to that.” The searches made it clear that the banning process against the center, which had been classified as Islamist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution for many years, was well advanced.
According to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the activities of the IZH, which is responsible for the “Imam Ali Mosque” based in Hamburg, are aimed at spreading the revolutionary concept of the highest Iranian leaders. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution assumes that the Islamic Center Hamburg exerts great influence on certain mosques and clubs, including complete control.
In general, it should be clarified whether the IZH has set up a nationwide structure that sets the political and religious direction for individual local mosques and sets an anti-Semitic and anti-democratic attitude on behalf of the Iranian state. This is about an extreme interpretation of Shiite Islam – i.e. a different faith among Muslims than before when Hamas was banned from operating in Germany.
With information from Holger Schmidt, SWR, ARD terrorism expert