Civil servants storm mosque - Raid at Islamic Center in Hamburg
Dozens of police officers stormed Hamburg's Blue Mosque early in the morning. According to a dpa reporter, they began searching the Shiite place of worship, which is run by the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and has been labeled extremist and Iran-controlled by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Verfassungsschutz).
Hamburg's Blue Mosque Stormed by Officers
A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior had stated in April that an association-law based investigation into the IZH would be "ongoing." In its assessment, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution states, "The IZH is ideologically, organizationally, and personnel-wise an outpost of the Tehran regime."
In response to the ongoing investigation, the morning raids on Hamburg's Blue Mosque were carried out by authorities, seeking evidence of potential violations of association laws. Despite the constitutional protection of religious freedoms, these raids highlight the tensions between the mosque's operations and the concerns raised by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution regarding its association with Iran.
