Germany shuts down Islamic Center Hamburg

German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on Wednesday that the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) would be banned for propagating extremism and that its famous "Blue Mosque" was being searched by police.

"It is very important to me to make a clear distinction here: we are not acting against a religion," Faeser said, but just against a group accused of undermining the German state as well as women's rights.

The Imam Ali Mosque, known locally as the Blue Mosque, is one of Germany's oldest mosques and is operated by the IZH.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the German ambassador over the ban, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. On the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the ministry called the ban "an example of Islamophobia" and a violation of freedom of expression. 

Asked about the summoning of the ambassador, a German Foreign Ministry official told Reuters news agency that it was up to Iran to move toward improving ties.

What is the Islamic Center of Hamburg?

The IZH is an organization that is considered an extension of the Iranian regime in Germany and is thought to have a significant influence over certain mosques and associations, according to Germany's domestic intelligence services.

The IZH is being probed for "spreading aggressive antisemitism," Faeser said on Wednesday, adding that raids against the group in November established proof of connections to Hezbollah and led to Wednesday's ban.

In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that it "banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organization pursuing anti-constitutional objectives". 

The ministry accused the organization of spreading Iranian revolutionary ideas, writing the IZH worked to spread those ideas "in an aggressive and militant manner."

53 properties searched in connection with IZH

There had been calls for years from Hamburg residents to investigate the IZH.

Affiliated institutions in the federal states of Bremen, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Berlin were also being investigated. The ministry said 53 properties were being searched, and four mosques were shut. 

Germany bans Hezbollah group, backed by Iran, in 2020

The Interior Ministry last year said the IZH was suspected of "acting against constitutional order" and of "supporting [the] terror organization Hezbollah."

In 2020, Germany designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and banned its activities on German soil.  

es/rm (dpa, Reuters)