Extremistically secured - Investigators storm Blue Mosque in Hamburg
Nationwide Raid Against Radical Islamists: Blue Mosque in Hamburg Suspected of Being Long Arm of Iran's Mullah Regime
A nationwide raid against radical Islamists was launched by law enforcement agencies in Hamburg and other German states this morning. According to ntv reports, the searches were initiated on the orders of the Federal Interior Ministry in eight German states. The Blue Mosque in Hamburg at the Außenalster is at the center of the search operations.
The mosque is suspected of functioning as an arm of the Mullah regime in Iran in Germany. The mosque's trustee organization, the "Islamic Center Hamburg" (IZH), is considered extremist by constitutional protectors. The organization was banned from operations this morning by the Federal Interior Ministry. "The purpose and activities of the 'Islamic Center Hamburg e.V.' (IZH) and its affiliated organizations aim against the constitutional order, against the idea of international understanding, and violate criminal laws," the official statement reads.
The IZH has been under observation by the Hamburg Constitutional Protection Agency since 1993. Since 2017, it has been classified as an instrument of Iranian state leadership.
"IZH's Time Has Run Out"
The nationwide raid also targeted other affiliated organizations. The security authorities suspect that the IZH supports the banned activities of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in Germany. An investigative proceeding against the "Islamic Center Hamburg" has been ongoing for months. "These Islamists at the Außenalster want to introduce a societal order based on Sharia law," Marco Haase, press spokesperson for the Hamburg Constitutional Protection Agency, explained in the spring to ntv. "In such a societal order, many fundamental rights would not apply and therefore they are under observation."
A raid on the Blue Mosque and 54 other objects in Hamburg, Lower Saxony, Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, and North Rhine-Westphalia took place on November 16, 2023. Hamburg's Senator of the Interior Andy Grote hinted at the time that a ban proceeding against the IZH had apparently progressed significantly: "The nationwide raids with a focus on Hamburg are a hard blow against the IZH, whose time has clearly run out," Grote stated last year.
For the security authorities, such a ban proceeding is always a narrow tightrope, said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at the time. She emphasized that the investigations always clearly targeted Islamic extremism: "We are not acting against a religion or another state," Faeser said. Among the items seized during the raid at the Blue Mosque in Hamburg in November of the previous year were cash, mobile phones, laptops, and a ton-heavy safe.
- The Blue Mosque in Hamburg, under investigation for its suspected ties to Iran's Mullah regime, is located at the Außenalster.
- Nancy Faeser, the Federal Interior Minister, highlighted that the raids targeting Islamist extremism were not aimed at a religion or another state.
- The police conducted raids on the Blue Mosque in Hamburg and 54 other locations across Germany, seizing items such as cash, mobile phones, laptops, and a large safe.
- The raids against radical Islamist organizations, including the Blue Mosque in Hamburg, also aimed to curb the activities of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia in Germany.
