ENTRE News – Germany has banned an Islamic organization accused of being affiliated with a militia in southern Lebanon, the Hamburg Islamic Center, and labeled it an extremist group. The German Ministry of Home Affairs (Kemendagri) stated that the Hamburg Islamic Center’s claims about their organization did not match the facts. They call themselves a purely religious organization that has no political agenda.
“(The Ministry of Home Affairs) to date has banned the Hamburg Islamic Center and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany, because they are Islamic extremist organizations that pursue anti-constitutional goals,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement, quoted by AFP.
Germany also banned organizations suspected of being affiliated with the Hamburg Islamic Center in the country, including Shia community mosques. The Ministry of Home Affairs also accused the organization of being connected to Iran. The Hamburg Islamic Center, they continued, is a direct representative of Iran’s supreme leader.
Not only that, the Ministry of Home Affairs said the organization was spreading Tehran’s ideology “in an aggressive and militant way.” The Hamburg Islamic Center is also accused of wanting to establish an authoritarian and theocratic government in a democratic country.
Germany also believes the group is carrying out anti-Semitism propaganda, an action the European country fears. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser confirmed Germany’s position.
“I want to emphasize that we are not taking action against religion, we are drawing a clear distinction between the Islamic extremists we are cracking down on and the many Muslims who come from our country and live according to their beliefs,” said Faeser.
He then said, “This prohibition in no way applies to the peaceful practice of the Shia religion.”
The Hamburg Islamic Center was founded by Iranian immigrants in 1953. In recent years, this organization has been monitored by German intelligence. The organization also manages the Imam Ali Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque.
Germany’s announcement of the ban on the Hamburg Islamic Center came after a team of investigators had been investigating allegations of the organization’s links to Hezbollah and Iran for months. The results of the investigation found 53 properties suspected of being related to the Hamburg Islamic Center.
In November, investigators also carried out raids on the Blue Mosque and other related sites in seven German states. Germany classifies Hezbollah as a “Shia terrorist organization.” Then in 2020, they banned any activities of the group in German territory.
