The German government has taken decisive action against an organization it accuses of being an extension of Iran's theocratic regime and of supporting the militant group Hezbollah. On Wednesday, Germany banned the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and five associated suborganizations, carrying out raids on 53 properties across the country, including the prominent Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg.

 

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stated that the evidence gathered from previous investigations confirmed serious suspicions about the IZH's activities. The organization is accused of promoting an Islamist-extremist, totalitarian ideology in Germany, supporting Hezbollah terrorists, and spreading aggressive antisemitism. The IZH, as the direct representative of Iran's "Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution," is said to disseminate the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Germany in an aggressive and militant manner.

 

The crackdown on IZH included raids in Berlin and six other German states. This organization, which has been under observation by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, is considered Iran's most significant representative in Germany aside from the country's embassy. Founded in 1962, the IZH has long been a subject of calls for prohibition.

 

Following the ban and subsequent raids, Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Germany's ambassador to Tehran, Hans-Udo Muzel, and strongly objected to the ban, labeling it a hostile act against basic human rights principles. In response, Germany's Interior Ministry clarified that its actions were not against a religion but against specific activities that oppose Germany's constitutional order.

 

As a result of the ban, four Shiite mosques in Germany will be closed, and the IZH’s assets are being confiscated. Germany's Interior Ministry estimates that there are 150 to 200 Shiite congregations in the country, and stressed that the ban was aimed at specific actions rather than the Shiite community as a whole.

 

The IZH has previously claimed that it condemns all forms of violence and extremism, advocating for peace, tolerance, and interreligious dialogue. However, the Interior Ministry asserted that the group's activities were not purely religious and were contrary to Germany's constitutional values.

 

The move was welcomed by Germany's main Jewish organization. Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews, stated that Iran's regime and its proxies aim to destroy democracy and the way of life in the country.

 

Germany has previously banned Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed group that has been involved in near-daily exchanges of fire with Israel across the Lebanon-Israel border since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza in October. This recent ban and the subsequent actions against the IZH and its affiliates signify Germany's continued efforts to curb Islamist extremism and foreign influence within its borders.

 

Credit: W.P. 2024-07-25

 

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Cannot argue with those reasons on why they have cracked down and closed some Mosques.