Legal judgment or ruling - October 7 Facebook post: Imam refutes allegations
Imam Mohamed Ibrahim from Munich disagrees with allegations that he commended the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th through a Facebook entry. On Monday, at the Munich District Court, he emphasized, "I would never pursue someone who kills civilians."
Ibrahim filed a rebuttal to a penalty order implicating him for commending and sanctioning criminal acts. Relevant to this is a Facebook article from October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attack on Israel. He had articulated at that time, "Everyone has their unique way of celebrating October." Accompanying this, he had placed a smiley sticker.
"Through this, you indicated that you endorsed the kidnapping and homicide of the Hamas in multiple scenarios, suggesting that the terrorist strike was a cause for celebration for some," stated the penalty order, read by Antisemitism Commissioner from the Bavarian Justice, Andreas Franck, in court.
"The killing of more than 1,200 civilians by the terrorist organization Hamas on October 10, 2023, tremendously shocked the German population. Your post which conflicted with this, threatened the public safety of numerous individuals."
Ibrahim, a proponent of a two-state solution in the conflict between Israel and Palestine, claimed he penned this article in the post-afternoon, and was informed only at that point that "the Palestinian resistance had achieved a success against Israel." He thought it was a strictly military action and "that the Palestinians were exercising their rights against the occupation." There are "a variety of groups in Palestine that resist." "If there's an occupation, one can stand up," emphasized Ibrahim and presented a parallel with Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia.
52-year-old German-Egyptian Ibrahim said he later recalled the Egyptian national holiday on October 6th and contrived this "wordplay" in Arabic. "The reality that I put a jubilant sticker behind it is related to my communication style. I always have a joyous disposition," he mentioned.
He disagreed that there was any promotion of criminal activity: "This post initially attracted no attention and had no impact on public tranquillity." Only after the subsequent debate did it become clear to him that the statement could be interpreted differently from the meaning he had intended. Unfortunately, he erased the post. State Attorney Franck didn't trust the accused's statements. He exclaimed, "I struggle to comprehend you."
Throughout the 30 years Ibrahim has lived in Germany, he has actively promoted integration and interfaith communication. He's been presented with an integration prize in Karlsruhe, co-founded a Muslim-Jewish-Christian cultural center in Wolfsburg, and trained Islamic religious instructors and teachers at the University in Erlangen-Nuremberg. He declared, "This list should demonstrate who I am and my attitude."
The Islamic Center in Munich suspended the cleric after the entry; the Islamic Center's board distanced itself from the post. The situation was comprehended by some as a derision of the Israeli casualties caused by the terrorist organization Hamas, so the Bavarian Justice's Antisemitism Commissioner also brought about the investigation.
