After Operation al-Aqsa Flood: Why Has Germany Intensified Its Campaigns Against Muslims?

The Ministry of Interior of Germany has recently escalated steps aimed at combating mosques and Islamic centers across the country, citing the pretext of “fighting extremism, Iran, and its proxies.”

The latest of these measures was the ministry’s decision to ban the activities of the Islamic Center Hamburg and its five subsidiary organizations, alleging that it "promotes an extremist Islamic ideology in Germany," supports Hezbollah, and espouses anti-Semitism.

On July 24, 2024, the ministry accused the center of being "a direct representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei," and charged it with "spreading Tehran’s ideology in a hostile and extremist manner."

The ministry claimed the center aims to "establish an authoritarian and religious rule as an alternative to democracy, and supports the military and political dimension of organizations such as Hezbollah."

Approximately 670 police officers searched 53 properties in eight federal states based on security and judicial orders after the center was deemed "an extremist Islamic organization with goals contrary to the constitution," according to German newspapers.

The Islamic Center Hamburg, which manages a mosque, has been under investigation for several months on suspicion of supporting Hezbollah and its ties to Iran. Following Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, 2023, the Center has been accused of supporting Hezbollah and of the “anti-Israel” protests that have been calling for a ceasefire.

The mosque, known as the Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg (IZH) and referred to as the Blue Mosque due to its colors, is run by the Center and is a well-known Shiite institution.

This center is the oldest Islamic institution in Europe and was officially listed as a historical heritage site in the German city of Hamburg in 2013, becoming a tourist destination.

Why Now? 

The Ministry of the Interior’s announcement of a large-scale operation across Germany was not the first step taken against German mosques, as several actions have been carried out since 2020.

Although the focus this time was on the Shiite center in Hamburg, the targeting extended to other Muslim centers and mosques, particularly following Operation al-Aqsa Flood and the German hysteria of labeling any opposition to Israel as "anti-Semitism."

When Germany banned Hezbollah on April 30, 2020, the then-German Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer, told the German newspaper Bild that the reason was the party’s questioning of the Israeli right to exist and its public calls for Israeli Occupation’s violent destruction.

This time, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said on July 24, regarding the ban on the Islamic Center Hamburg, that among the reasons for the closure was its "aggressive promotion of anti-Semitism," indicating that the aim of Germany’s attack on the Center was not so much the Center’s support for Hezbollah as claimed, but rather Germany’s support for the Israeli Occupation.

Germany has faced severe criticism for supplying “Israel” with deadly weapons to kill the people of Gaza and for suppressing pro-ceasefire protests, following Nazi-like policies against critics of the Israeli Occupation, such as revoking residency or imprisonment.

A report by Policy and International Society magazine (IPS) published in Belgium on June 5, 2024, stated that the German government's stance on the war in Gaza is causing permanent damage to the country's reputation worldwide.

It noted that Germany's reputation, built over recent decades as a protector of civil rights, is at risk of being ruined due to German bias, double standards, and the brutal repression of pro-Gaza protesters, as well as the deportation of those who criticize the Israeli Occupation.

Previously, the police raided the main Islamic Center Hamburg, along with 53 properties linked to the center in 10 German cities, confiscating funds as part of operations targeting other Sunni centers.

In June 2024, German authorities closed some Sunni Salafi mosques on the same charge leveled against the Islamic Center Hamburg, that their activities violated the constitutional order.

The Ministry of the Interior in Lower Saxony, eastern Germany, banned the German Islamic Community (Duitse Islamitische Gemeenschap: DMG), known for its Salafi preachers, and closed its mosque in Braunschweig, alleging that its activities "violated the constitutional order."

This time, the authorities stated that Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg and its branches were "affiliated with the Iranian regime," and that violations by the center were monitored that contravened German laws due to “anti-Semitic rhetoric.”

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that evidence gathered during the investigation confirmed that the center "promotes an extremist and totalitarian Islamic ideology in Germany," and its subsidiary organizations "also support Hezbollah terrorists and spread aggressive anti-Semitism."

She claimed that “the Islamic Center Hamburg, as the direct representative of Ali Khamenei in Iran, spreads the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in an aggressive manner and seeks to instigate such a revolution in Germany.”

The Interior Ministry of Germany announced that, due to the ban, four mosques in the country would be closed, and the assets of the Shiite Islamic association would be confiscated.

The ministry estimates that there are between 150 and 200 Shiite groups in Germany, according to the Associated Press on July 24, 2024.

German domestic intelligence estimated in a report published on July 9, 2020, that 1,050 people in Germany are "members of an extremist wing of Hezbollah," but they do not form an official organization; instead, they operate informally in activities including fundraising.

A History of Targeting 

Since 2013, the European Union has classified Hezbollah's military wing as a "terrorist organization," yet some European countries, including Germany, have distinguished between Hezbollah and the political wing.

However, on April 30, 2020, Germany banned all activities of Hezbollah (both the military and political wings) on its territory, classifying it as a “terrorist organization.”

Germany also decided to ban Hezbollah symbols in gatherings, publications, and media, and to allow the confiscation of its assets.

On the same day, a series of raids were carried out on associations and mosques in four German cities, claiming their proximity to the party and their violation of criminal law and opposition to the principle of international understanding, according to a statement at the time by the Ministry of the Interior.

In September 2019, the German government authorized the federal public prosecutor to prosecute "Hezbollah's activities and members criminally."

In January 2022, the Jerusalem Post revealed the cancellation of the membership of the Islamic Center Hamburg, claiming to be affiliated with the Iranian regime, from the executive council of Islamic communities in the state.

It confirmed that this decision was made after German intelligence sources alleged the Iranian center's support for Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who was assassinated by the US in 2020 in Baghdad.

Later, on July 9, 2020, German domestic intelligence, known as Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, issued its annual security report for 2019, which included statistics and studies on far-right and far-left extremist organizations.

It also covered "extremist Islamic movements," notably Hezbollah and Iranian intelligence agents in Germany, according to the report.

The report described "Hezbollah, the Shiite Islamic party," as "denying Israel's right to exist and conducting armed struggles based on terrorism against Israel, viewing it as an illegitimate occupier of Palestinian land and engaging in legitimate resistance against it."

The report included information about the Islamic Center Hamburg, describing it as "the most significant representation of Iran in Germany, in addition to the embassy, and an important center for Iranian propaganda in Europe."

According to the report, "Iran attempts to connect Shiites of different nationalities to itself and spread the fundamental social, political, and religious values of the Iranian state in Europe."

It stated that the center established a national network of contacts within many Shiite mosques and Islamic associations, exerting significant influence over them and maintaining complete control.

On July 18, 2020, The Jerusalem Post reported that a German intelligence report found that Shiite associations in the European country were involved in financially supporting Hezbollah.

The local intelligence agency in Bremen, northern Germany, revealed that al-Mustafa center, operating under a social cover to serve the Shiite community in Germany, was found to be raising funds and transferring them to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

According to the intelligence report, about 50 people in Bremen and approximately 1,050 across Germany are members of al-Mustafa association, which acts as a liaison between supporters in Bremen and the party leadership in Lebanon.

The report did not specify the amount of money sent by party supporters in Bremen to Lebanon.

It mentioned that al-Mustafa center sent funds to the families of the party's fighters and tried to fill the void left by the German government's ban on the Orphan Child Project in Lebanon in 2014. 

In June 2022, Germany expelled the Iranian deputy head of the Islamic Center in Hamburg, Soleiman Mousavi, accusing him of supporting extremist and terrorist organizations, paving the way for the center's closure in 2024.

Saudi and Emirati Incitement 

Since 2020, Saudi and Emirati media have incited against the activities of this Shiite Islamic center, accusing it of funding Hezbollah.

On September 9, 2020, al-Arabiya.net published a report claiming to have obtained evidence and documents proving that the Islamic Center Hamburg funds Hezbollah.

The European Center for Counterterrorism and Intelligence Studies (ECCI), funded by the UAE, also published numerous incitement studies against European Muslims, including the Shiite Islamic Center Hamburg, asserting its connection to Iranian intelligence and its role in gathering information for it.

On July 25, 2024, the Alarab Emirati website published a report about the closure of the Shiite center in Hamburg, alleging that "there is close cooperation between Iranian intelligence and diplomatic missions in Europe and the mosques and associations affiliated with Iran."

The al-Arabiya report mentioned above claimed that "Iran exploits European systems' support for cultural associations and freedom of belief, thus playing on this loophole."

It highlighted that "it is difficult to distinguish between associations and mosques supporting extremist groups and hostile intelligence agendas and freedom of belief, which European intelligence agencies are unlikely to target due to the widespread Shiite community and its affiliated centers."

The al-Arabiya website claimed to have obtained exclusive information from the Geneva Center for Studies and Research’s Unit for studies on extremist groups, asserting that Iran's strategy is divided into three main axes.

“The most dangerous of these is the strategy of establishing religious centers directly affiliated with Iran and secret groups tasked with monitoring and controlling Shiite communities in Europe, even to the point of threats of murder,” as claimed by the al-Arabiya website. 

Al-Arabiya accused the Islamic Center Hamburg of recruiting Shiite communities through a former Revolutionary Guards officer who manages this operation and other activities such as espionage and money laundering.

It claimed to have obtained the text of an intelligence memorandum sent by the federal government to parliament on August 21, 2019, confirming Tehran's control over Shiite communities and their recruitment.

The memorandum confirmed that German organizations and mosques under Iranian influence theoretically operate under the umbrella of the Islamic community of Shiite organizations, but the center in Hamburg is the main driver.

Al-Arabiya accused the Islamic Community of Shiite Organizations in Germany (founded in 2009), which includes the Islamic Center Hamburg, of receiving EU funding in 2019 amounting to €137,000 and using these funds for Iranian regime goals.

“The Center is in direct contact with Khamenei's office and provides all forms of support to Hezbollah,” according to Denis Gladiator, local policy official for the German Democrats, in a letter to the Hamburg parliament.

Al-Arabiya reported that these violations sparked official and party movements in Hamburg in November 2023 to ban Iran's main arm in Germany, especially after Hezbollah was recently classified as a terrorist organization and all its activities were banned.

It implicitly accused Iran and these Shiite organizations in Europe of money laundering and drug trafficking.

Hezbollah in Europe was also accused of following a new strategy for transferring funds to Lebanon or Syria, according to Nasser Zohair, advisor on international relations and political economy at the Geneva Center for Studies and Research.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry welcomed Germany's decision to ban all activities of Hezbollah on its soil and called on "other European countries as well as the European Union" to follow Berlin's lead in banning all its social, political, and military activities.

The then-U.S. ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, also called on all EU member states to take similar measures.