The former head of an Islamic centre in Germany banned for its alleged links to extremist and terror groups has left the country after being served with a deportation order, local authorities say.
Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, who was the head of the Hamburg Islamic Centre before it was banned in July, left Germany on Tuesday evening, the Hamburg interior ministry says in a statement.
Mofatteh, 57, had been ordered two weeks ago to leave Germany or face being deported at his own expense.
He will not be allowed to re-enter Germany for 20 years and could face up to three years in prison if he does, the ministry says.
Andy Grote, interior minister for the state of Hamburg, describes Mofatteh as “one of Germany’s most prominent Islamists.”
“We will continue to take a tough line against Islamists with all legal means at our disposal,” he says in a statement.
Investigators swooped on the Hamburg Islamic Centre in July after concluding it was an “Islamist extremist organization” with links to Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group.
Iran reacted angrily to the accusations and shut down a German language institute in Tehran in what appeared to be a tit-for-tat move.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From 
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
