Hamburg. Germany has banned the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) and its affiliated organizations. Giving this information on Wednesday, the German Home Ministry said that these organizations promote radical Islamic ideology. This organization was founded in 1953 by immigrants from Iran and it is accused of running the agenda of the Iranian government among the Shia Muslims of Germany and supporting the Shia extremist organization Hezbollah.
IZH manages the Imam Ali Mosque in Hamburg, which is one of the oldest mosques in Germany. This mosque is famous for its turquoise outer walls and for this reason it is also known as the Blue Mosque. Now apart from this mosque, four other Shia mosques will be closed. Apart from this, groups associated with IZH have also been banned in Frankfurt, Munich and Berlin.
Raid on 53 locations of IZH
The Home Ministry said that on Wednesday morning, on the orders of the court, raids were conducted at 53 locations related to the Islamic Center Hamburg in eight states of Germany. The ministry also said that IZH, known as Islamisches Zentrum Hamburg in German, has been banned based on evidence found after searches of 55 properties conducted in November.
Home Minister Nancy Fesser said, ‘Today we have banned the Islamisches Zentrum Hamburg, which promotes radical Islamic ideology in Germany.’ Along with this, she said, ‘This radical ideology is against human dignity, women’s rights, an independent judiciary and our democratic government.’
Accused of working as a pawn of Ayatollah Khamenei
The ministry said that IZH worked as a pawn of Iran’s supreme leader and wanted to bring an Islamic revolution in Germany, which would establish religious rule. However, at the same time, he clarified that ‘this ban does not apply at all to the peaceful practice of Shia religion.’
On the other hand, according to the report of news agency Reuters, a call was made to the office of IZH on Wednesday morning for its response on this action, but no one could be contacted and its website was also closed for the people.
Tags: Iran news, World news
FIRST PUBLISHED : July 24, 2024, 13:17 IST