Germany

Law Enforcement

German police raid suspected IS supporters Ten warrants were executed across the German state of Hesse on suspicion of financing a terror group. The accused include eight men and two women between the ages of 20 and 51.

July 14, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Police in the German state of Hesse searched multiple locations in connection with investigations involving suspected “Islamic State” extremists, local authorities said Wednesday morning. Ten search warrants were executed across the state “on suspicion of terrorist financing and the preparation […]

News: Europe

Islamists in Germany: Quiet, but dangerous A stabbing spree in the German city of Würzburg has renewed focus on the threat of Islamism, even if the attacker's motive remains unclear.

June 29, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Last week’s knife attack in the Bavarian city of Würzburg left three people dead and seven injured — five of them seriously. The suspect is a man from Somalia whose asylum application had been rejected. Police are investigating his motives, […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Würzburg holds vigil for knife attack victims At an emotional memorial service, Würzburg mourned the deaths of three women who were killed in a knife attack. With the motive still unclear, officials urged against responding to the attack with 'hate and revenge.'

June 27, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Bavarian State Premier Markus Söder attended a memorial service on Sunday for the victims of the knife attack in the city of Würzburg, around 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) east of Frankfurt. “We cannot answer such a hateful deed with hate and revenge,” […]

Academics & Education

German Islamic teacher’s license revoked for being too liberal Abdel-Hakim Ourghi has written books including 'You Don't Have to Wear a Headscarf' and 'Reform Islam: 40 Theses.' His application to train other Islamic teachers was turned down for vague reasons.

June 26, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) A German Islamic scholar has had his teaching license rejected because of his “liberal theological convictions,” one of his peers told a newspaper on Saturday. Islam expert Susanne Schröter spoke out in support of Abdel-Hakim Ourghi, who headed the Islamic […]

Government & Politics

German government agrees to ban Hamas flag after antisemitic incidents The German government wants to send a message to Jewish citizens after several antisemitic incidents took place amid pro-Palestinian protests last month.

June 20, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) All parties in Germany’s grand coalition government have agreed to ban the flag of Palestinian Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper said in a report published Sunday. The move comes after several antisemitic incidents occurred last month in […]

Government & Politics

Germany carries out raids on Hezbollah-linked groups The three groups have been banned for allegedly collecting money for the families of Hezbollah fighters. The Lebanese militants have been active opponents of Israel.

May 19, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Interior Ministry has outlawed three organizations accused of collecting money for the militant Iran-backed movement Hezbollah in Lebanon. Bans against German Lebanese Family, People for Peace and Give Peace came into effect on Wednesday, but had already been pronounced […]

Government & Politics

Germany outlaws Islamist organization Ansaar International Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has banned the Düsseldorf-based Islamist association on suspicion of financing terrorist groups abroad such as the Palestinian Hamas and al-Shabab in Somalia.

May 5, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Wednesday that Germany has banned the Islamist organization Ansaar International and several of its sub-organizations. “The network finances terrorism worldwide with donations,” Seehofer’s spokesman Steve Alter tweeted on Wednesday. Alter quoted Seehofer as saying: “If you want to […]

Demographics

Muslims in Germany: Religion not a good gauge of integration A study shows that the number of Muslims in Germany has significantly risen compared to 2015 and many still face challenges in employment and education. But religion may only be a minor cause of these challenges.

April 28, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) “Wir schaffen das” — “We can do it.” Those were the now-famous words that German Chancellor Angela Merkel used in 2015 to indicate that Germany was prepared and able to take in a large number of refugees — ultimately around […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Conservatives seek to isolate Islamist groups Germany's governing conservative bloc is planning to cut all government ties with groups suspected of supporting political Islamism, according to a report in Die Welt. Large Muslim umbrella organizations may be affected.

April 13, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) The parliamentary group of Germany’s ruling conservative bloc has called for an end to cooperation with groups suspected of supporting political Islamism, the newspaper Die Welt reported on Tuesday. The bloc, made up of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) and […]

Government & Politics

Turkey: 2,764 foreign terrorists deported since 2019 66 French, 57 German, 22 Dutch, 14 Swedish and 7 Swiss nationals among those deported back to countries of origin

March 21, 2021   

(Anadolu) Turkey has deported a total of 2,764 foreign [terrorist] fighters (FTFs) of 67 different nationalities since 2019, the country’s Interior Ministry announced on Sunday. In a statement, the ministry said the FTFs had left their home countries to join ranks of […]

Legal

Syrian pair appear in German court over filmed ‘execution’ Two suspected war criminals from Syria have appeared in court in the German city of Düsseldorf. They are accused of taking part in and filming the 'execution' of a Syrian regime soldier for propaganda purposes.

March 4, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Two men appeared at a higher regional court in Düsseldorf on Thursday charged with committing a war crime and the membership and support of a terror organization. The pair are suspected of having taken part in the execution of a […]

Clothing

EU companies can ban workers from wearing headscarves, magistrate says The court adviser found that small-scale religious displays can be allowed at work, but it’s up to national courts to determine what falls in that category.

February 25, 2021   

(Courthouse News) In a consolidated case involving a drug store clerk and a day care center employee, a magistrate for the European Union’s high court held that employers can ban Islamic headscarves on neutrality grounds. In a nonbinding legal opinion for the […]

Law Enforcement

Berlin: Salafist group outlawed after police raids Authorities in the German capital have announced a ban on the radical Islamist group Jama'atu Berlin following a series of dawn raids.

February 25, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Berlin’s Senate has announced on Twitter that it has banned the “jihadist-Salafist association Jama’atu Berlin,” also known as Tauhid Berlin. The tweet Thursday said police in Berlin and Brandenburg had carried out early-morning searches of properties belonging to the group’s members. A […]

Clerics & Preachers

Abu Walaa, the preacher guilty of supporting ‘Islamic State’ terrorism The trial of suspected 'Islamic State' recruiter Abu Walaa has lasted three and a half years in the German city of Celle. He was sentenced to over 10 years in prison.

February 24, 2021   

(Deutsche Welle) Prosecutors had sought a sentence of 11 1/2 years for Ahmad Abdulaziz Abdullah A., also known as Abu Walaa. They said the defendant, who was born in Iraq, was the head of an “Islamic State” (IS) network and worked to […]