(Deutsche Welle) The German Foreign Ministry wants Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf states to register any donations or state subsidies intended for mosques in Germany.
According to daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and German broadcasters WDR and NDR, the government has involved both the domestic and foreign intelligence services to monitor who sends the money and who receives it.
The Gulf states are also required to alert German authorities if a religious group from Germany seeks support or advice in their country.
The new practice, which the report says has already been in place since the spring, follows on from Interior Minister Horst Seehofer’s comments at Germany’s Islam conference in November, where he pledged to reduce “foreign influence” on Germany’s mosques.
