Crackdown On Mosques and Islamic Centres in Germany Has More to Do with Geopolitics Than to Anti-Semitism
By New Age Islam Staff
Writer
30 July
2024
Blue Mosque and Other 52 Mosques of Germany
Were Raided for Terror Links
Main Points:
1.
Blue Mosque, the oldest Shia mosque
in Germany was banned.
2.
Interior ministry alleged it was
linked to Hezbollah.
3.
Ministry alleged Blue Mosque
promoted anti-semitism.
4.
In June 2023, an interior ministry
report said one third of Muslims in Germany faced racial discrimination.
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A pro-Palestinian
rally in Berlin, Nov. 4, 2023. Credit: Streets of Berlin via Wikimedia Commons.
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On 24 July,
hundreds of police personnel raided the oldest Shia Mosque, Imam Ali Mosque
popularly called Blue Mosque in Hamburg in Germany. Other 52 mosques and
Islamic centres in five states across Germany were also raided and the property
confiscated. The government claims that police have secured extensive
documents, computers, mobile phones and large sums of cash. According to the
Interior Ministry of Germany, the raids were being conducted since November
2023 and it had gathered much evidence about the Mosque's link to Hezbollah
which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Germany in 2020. However,
the interior ministry has not produced any material evidence of the mosque's
links to Hezbollah.
The German
Ministry of the Interior released a statement citing two main reasons behind
the crack down: It pursued extremist objectives and promoted aggressive
anti-Semitism. As a matter of fact, any country has the right to take legal
action against individuals and groups involved in terrorism and racism.
Therefore, Germany has the right to crackdown on organisations and individuals
pursuing terrorism and extremist ideology on its land. But it has not provided
any material evidence of the links of the Blue Mosque to Hezbollah though it
has been conducting raids on mosques and Islamic centres since November. The
statement of Interior Minister Nancy Faeser on the mosque so far have political
undertones. She said the mosque was a 'front for the Iranian government and it
was planning an Iran like Islamic revolution (coup) in Germany. Condemning the
Iran government's crackdown on mosques, Iran's minister Ali Baqeri Kani wrote
on X:
"The
decision by the German political and law enforcement authorities on inspection
of premises affiliated to IZH (Islamic Centre of Hamburg) which is the oldest
Islamic centre (in the country) with a history of 70 years and a precious
heritage of late Shia authority Grand Ayatollah Baroujerdi is.an unjustified
move and flouts all principles of freedom of religion and thought."
German
police closed the Islamic Centre in Hamburg, also known as the Blue Mosque, as
part of nationwide raids (Image Source: AP)
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Turkey's
religious affairs directorate also expressed concern over the ban on the
Islamic Centre of Germany.
The
crackdown seems to be a fall out of widespread protests against Israel's
genocidal war across Germany in which both Muslims and non-Muslims have
participated. The governments of the US and the European countries have cracked
down on protesters and even cancelled visas of foreign students. The Islamic
Centre of Hamburg too issued statements protesting against the massacre of
Palestinians. According to a report in Tehran Times 26 July:
"In
recent months, the centre has issued many statements regarding Israeli
genocidal war in Gaza and the heart wrenching massacre of Palestinian civilians
urging the German government and other western states to put an end to their
support of the regime in order to help protect defenceless civilians in the
besieged Strip."
The recent
crackdown, therefore, may be seen in the backdrop of the involvement of the
Islamic Centre of Hamburg in the widespread protests against the Israel's
genocidal war in Gaza.
As for
anti-Semitism, the statistics of the Interior ministry of Germany itself shows
that the Muslims face more racial discrimination and stereotyping in Germany. A
400 page report of independent experts produced to the Interior ministry in
June 2023 (only last year) revealed that one third of the Muslims of Germany
have experienced racial discrimination and stereotyping from kindergarten to
old age. The October 7 war affected the Muslims more as Islamophobia grew in
Germany since October 2023. A report by Human Rights Watch on April 30, 2024
said:
"By
end of September 2023, the government's preliminary hate crime statistics for
the year had counted 686 anti-Islamic crimes, surpassing the 610 recorded for
all of 2022. In mid 2024, the Interior Ministry told the Human Rights Watch
that it could not yet provide any data for the period before October and
December. But German civil society groups have warned of a rise in anti-Muslim
incidents since October following the outbreak of hostilities in
Israel-Palestine."
The repot
further states:
" To
the dismay of an author of the study, the Interior ministry has neither engaged
with the experts who produced the report nor carried out their recommendations.
Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she did not agree to everything in the
report. "
Nancy
Faeser who is seemingly so perturbed by the anti-Semitism allegedly promoted by
the Blue Mosque that she ordered a crackdown on it along with other 52 mosques
and Islamic centres but did not take any action against documented incidents of
anti-Islamic hate crimes in her country. She even rejected the report of her
own government on growing Islamophobia in Germany.
This shows
that Nancy Faeser has a biased approach towards Muslims in line with the
leaders of the US, UK and Netherlands. The fact is that Germany is one of the
staunchest supporters of Israel in Gaza war and one of the biggest suppliers of
arms to Israel. For its complicity in the genocide in Palestine, Nicaragua has
even instituted proceedings against Germany at the International Court of
Justice under inter alia the Genocide Convention concerning alleged breach of
certain international obligations in respect of the occupied Palestine
territory arising from Germany's support for Israel in the Israel-Hamas war.
In short,
the crackdown on mosques and Islamic centres by the German government has more
to do with geopolitics than to terrorism or anti-Semitism. Germany, like other
European countries, is trying to suppress voices protesting and condemning the
genocide in Gaza by Israel for its own political goals.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-west/mosques-islamic-germany-geopolitics-anti-semitism/d/132821