Extremist Islamic Association - IZH-Prohibition - Raids in Lower Saxony and Bremen
In connection with the ban on the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and its part organizations, buildings have also been searched in Lower Saxony. According to a spokesperson for the Interior Ministry in Hannover, this concerns one object in the jurisdiction of the Lüneburg Police Department and four objects in the jurisdiction of the Oldenburg Police Department. The spokesperson spoke of search and seizure measures. No arrests were made accordingly.
"Lower Saxony welcomes the ban against the IZH and its part organizations", it was stated. The Bremen Interior Ministry refused to comment on the searches and referred to the Federal Interior Ministry.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has banned the nationwide active Islamic association. According to the assessment of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it is a "significant propaganda center for Iran in Europe". In execution of the prohibition order against the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and five affiliated organizations, police searched the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) with the Imam Ali Mosque and other buildings in total in eight federal states at dawn. Raids took place in a total of 53 objects in Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bavaria.
The IZH disseminates the ideology of the so-called "Islamic Revolution" in Germany as a direct representation of the Iranian "Revolutionary Leader" in an aggressively militant manner, according to a statement from the Federal Interior Ministry. "It is important to me to clearly distinguish: We are not acting against a religion", emphasized Faeser. The peaceful Shia faith and religious practice is explicitly not affected by the ban.
- The search and seizure operations in Lower Saxony, in relation to the banned Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and its sub-organizations, were conducted by the Lüneburg and Oldenburg police departments.
- The Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and its related entities, including the Imam Ali Mosque, were targeted in raids across eight German federal states, as per the ban order issued by the Federal Interior Ministry.
- The arrest of individuals was not reported during the raids that took place in buildings in Hamburg, Bremen, Berlin, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Bavaria.
- The Federal Interior Ministry, in its statement, viewed the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) as a significant propagator of Iranian ideologies within Europe and a supporter of the Iranian "Revolutionary Leader".
- The Bremen Interior Ministry chose not to comment on the searches conducted in Lower Saxony but referred the matter to the Federal Interior Ministry.
- Theban on the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and its associated organizations was welcomed by the Lower Saxony Interior Ministry, yet the specific details of the search operations were not disclosed.
- The Mosque association in Oldenburg also fell under the scope of the ban and was the subject of raids and search measures by the German police.
- The Federal Interior Ministry's stance is clear: the ban on the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) is not intended to target any specific religion or peaceful religious practices, such as the Shia faith, but solely to combat extremism.
