German police stage massive raids on Islamist group
Officers sweep nearly 200 sites in 10 states connected to banned group handing out radical translations of Quran and sending fighters to Syria and Iraq
BERLIN — German police on Tuesday raided nearly 200 sites across 10 states in a probe against an Islamist group suspected of inciting hate.
The group called The True Religion (Die wahre Religion) has now also been banned by Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, said a ministry spokeswoman.
She said the sweeping raids in 10 states including North Rhine-Westphalia in the west, Hamburg in the north and Baden-Wuerttemberg in the south-west began at dawn.
The group is suspected of propagating hate, she said.
De Maiziere said that more than 140 youths had traveled to Syria and Iraq to join fighters there after having participated in the group’s campaigns in Germany.
The group is also known for its controversial program called “Read!” which distributes copies of the Quran in German. But experts say the translation is a particular strict version from the original Arabic text.
“The translations of the Quran are being distributed along with messages of hatred and unconstitutional ideologies,” de Maiziere told reporters in Berlin. “Teenagers are being radicalized with conspiracy theories.”
The sight of young men in long robes and bushy beards handing out German copies of the Quran has been common in downtown and shopping areas across Germany for several years.
The ban of the group comes a week after security authorities arrested five men who allegedly aided the Islamic State group in Germany by recruiting members and providing financial and logistical help. The recent operations suggest that the German government is trying to clamp down hard on radical Islamists.
The German interior minister stressed that the ban does not restrict the freedom of religion in Germany or the peaceful practice of Islam in any way, but that the group had glorified terrorism and the fight against the German constitution in videos and meetings.
“We don’t want terrorism in Germany … and we don’t want to export terrorism,” de Maiziere said adding that the ban was also a measure to help protect peaceful Islam in the country.
The raids came a day before US President Barack Obama is set to fly to Germany on his last European trip before leaving office, and security has been tightened in Berlin ahead of the visit.
“The message to the radical Islamist scene is clear: we do not tolerate fanatics who try to radicalize young people and send them to jihad,” said Peter Beuth, the interior minister for Hesse state, where the raids also took place.
“By banning this organization, a major source of radicalization has been eradicated nationwide. Those who spread hate messages can’t hide behind freedom of religion, the Interior Ministry has underlined this with the ban today,” he added.
