Shouldn’t have invited him. The German government has demanded “explanations” from leaders of the Muslim faith after a dignitary of the Afghan Taliban regime gave a lecture in a German mosque on Thursday evening. Abdul Bari Omar, an official in the Taliban’s Ministry of Health, held this conference in a mosque in the Chorweiler district of Cologne, belonging to the Turkish Muslim association Ditib, the largest in the country.
During this event, organized by an Afghan association in the city, he is accused of having “disseminated propaganda”, and “asked for donations for the Islamic regime”, states the daily in particular. Bild.
The community denies “any proximity, even spiritual, with the Taliban”
Asked to explain, the government denied any prior “knowledge” of this visit, which it also condemned. “The conference by a representative of the Taliban in Cologne is completely unacceptable and must be strongly condemned. No one should give a platform to Islamist radicals,” declared Interior Minister Nancy Faeser. This Monday, the latter called on Ditib to provide “explanations” on “how it is possible that these premises were used” in this way.
Mosque officials assured that they were not aware of the visit of the Taliban leader, adding that the Afghan association which rented the premises was “not part of Ditib”. “A religious event […] took place on our premises. Contrary to the contractual agreement, this turned into a political event and a speaker who was unknown to us was invited,” they said, rejecting “any proximity, even spiritual, with the Taliban.”
No German visa but a Schengen visa
The question of how Abdul Bari Omar was able to enter Germany also arises, when Berlin does not recognize the Taliban regime and no longer has an embassy in Afghanistan since its return to power in the summer of 2021. “a Taliban official can come and give a conference in Germany and spread his inhuman ideology” is “another proof of the government’s weakness”, denounced a conservative opposition official, Alexander Throm.
“We checked whether a German visa had been issued. This was not the case,” replied a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday. The official would have traveled on a Schengen visa issued by a “neighboring country”, he added. According to several media, Abdul Bari Omar arrived via the Netherlands, where he participated in a World Health Organization conference in early November.