Germany

Christians

Germany: Man detained over Cologne Cathedral threat Police said a 30-year-old man would be detained until 7 January. German police had received an alert that a group may be planning an attack on the Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve.

December 26, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) German police said on Tuesday they had detained a man in connection with a dangerous threat at the iconic Cologne Cathedral in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). Police announced the arrest of five men after searching an apartment in Wesel, some […]

Legal

Germany charges 2 Syrians with war crimes over IS ties Authorities accuse the two Syrians in German custody of membership in a terrorist group and having committed war crimes in Damascus a decade ago.

December 22, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) German prosecutors have charged two Syrian men with war crimes they are accused of having committed some 10 years ago in the Syrian capital Damascus, as part of the so-called Islamic State militant group. In line with German privacy rules, the […]

Crime

Germany braces for potential New Year’s Eve riots Police have stepped up preparations to deal with violence against them and emergency service staff on New Year's Eve. There are worries that the situation in the Middle East could worsen the problem.

December 21, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she fears a repeat of New Year rioting and attacks on emergency services in Berlin and other cities. “I’m worried that New Year’s Eve could once again be a day on which we are forced […]

Law Enforcement

German police raid pro-Palestinian feminist group The raids were part of a probe into allegations that members of the group Zora were using emblems of the PFLP, which Israel, the EU and the US have designated a terrorist organization.

December 20, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Police in Berlin, Germany’s capital, conducted on Wednesday a raid targeting members of a pro-Palestinian, left-wing feminist group, German media reported. The Zora group is accused of backing the radical, left-wing Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The European […]

Immigration

Germany deports Iraqi over ‘terror’ suspicion The 20-year-old was suspected of planning a 'terrorist attack' targeting a Christmas market in eastern Germany. He has been permanently banned from reentering the country.

December 16, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) A 20-year-old Iraqi has been deported back to his home country after German authorities suspected he was planning a “terrorist attack,” Germany’s Interior Ministry announced on Saturday. The Interior Ministry of the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt accused the unnamed man of […]

Government & Politics

Germany’s CDU redefines stance on Islam in new manifesto Under Friedrich Merz, Germany's Christian Democratic Union is revising its manifesto, sparking controversy with its new stance on Islam and migration. The party's new direction marks a departure from the Merkel era.

December 12, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The new color scheme a few months back was only a cosmetic step. Now, Germany’s center-right Christian Democrats are going under the hood. For the first time since 2007, the party that ruled Germany for most of the republic’s young […]

Citizenship

Germany: CDU fears Islamist bloc as millions of Turkish migrants to be granted voting rights Progressive plans to naturalise millions of migrants, many of them Turkish, [are] unsettling German conservatives as Turkey continues its collision course with the West.

December 7, 2023   

(European Conservative) New German citizenship laws that expand voting rights to up to 2.5 million recent migrants are unnerving even the usually complacent CDU, with one conservative lawmaker airing fears that the new arrangement could enable a potential Islamist bloc to attain […]

Interfaith

Germany on guard against terrorism Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war and one-off attacks closer to home, German authorities are confronting a 'complex threat situation.' Some observers warn against exaggerating the danger.

December 5, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) A handful of isolated but high-profile incidents have put politically motivated crime high on Germany’s security agenda. The renewed fears follow a German tourist getting stabbed to death in Paris last weekend, allegedly by a man with a history of criminal […]

Children & Teens

Germany: Teens allegedly planned Christmas market attack Two teenagers arrested this week allegedly planned to set off an explosion at a Christmas market in Leverkusen. Prosecutors said they then planned to join an offshoot of the so-called 'Islamic State' group.

November 30, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Two German teenagers are accused of plotting a terror attack on a Christmas market in the western German city of Leverkusen, German prosecutors said on Thursday. The suspects, a 15-year-old boy in North Rhine-Westphalia and a 16-year-old boy in the […]

Government & Politics

German intelligence warns of heightened terror risk Germany's domestic intelligence agency says the danger of a terror attack in the country is 'higher than it has been for a long time.' It cited the October 7 Hamas attacks and the subsequent Israel-Hamas war as factors.

November 29, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s Federal Office for the Protection of the [Constitution] (BfV) on Wednesday said the danger of an Islamist terror attack on German soil had significantly increased. The agency said the raised risk of attacks against the Jewish community or “the […]

Interfaith

German police raid suspected Hamas and Samidoun properties Berlin had banned activities related to Hamas — a designated terrorist group — and the international pro-Palestinian network Samidoun at the beginning of November.

November 23, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The German Interior Ministry on Thursday said police had conducted raids on properties in four federal states connected to suspected Hamas and Samidoun members. Germany, along with the US, the EU and others, has designated Hamas a terrorist organization. Samidoun […]

Government & Politics

Germany: Faeser seeks Hamas condemnation at Islam conference Germany's interior minister has said she will seek clear positions on Hamas from faith groups at the government's annual Islam conference. Nancy Faeser said they should assume 'their responsibility in society.'

November 21, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The ongoing conflict in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 terror attacks against Israel looked sure to overshadow the German government’s annual Islam conference in Berlin on Tuesday. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said ahead of the event on […]

Clerics & Preachers

German mosque suspends imam for joking about Hamas attack in online post Mohamed Ibrahim's remark was blamed for contributing to collapse of interfaith peace event in Munich

November 10, 2023   

(National-UAE) An imam who responded to Hamas’s attack on Israel by joking that “everyone has their own way of celebrating October” has been suspended in Germany. The Islamic Centre Munich distanced itself from the post by Mohamed Ibrahim, saying it had felt […]

Demonstrations

Germany bans Hamas activities, dissolves Samidoun group Germany's Interior Ministry has announced a ban on pro-Palestinian group Samidoun and completely outlawed activities linked to the Islamist militant group Hamas. But what does the tightening of the law mean?

November 2, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) Germany has announced a ban on Samidoun, a group that says it advocates for Palestinian prisoners, and imposed further prohibitions to stamp out support for the Islamist militant group Hamas, which Berlin already lists as a terrorist organization. Chancellor Olaf […]

Demonstrations

German antisemitism: Robert Habeck jabs Muslim groups, threatens deportations ‘The extent of the Islamist demonstrations in Berlin and other cities in Germany is unacceptable and requires a tough political response,’ says vice chancellor.

November 2, 2023   

(Politico) Germany’s Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck criticized Muslim groups while expressing concern over rising antisemitism in Germany and calling for tough consequences for people committing antisemitic acts. “Antisemitism is not to be tolerated in any form,” Habeck said Wednesday evening in a speech […]

Legal

Germany: Trial of Islamist in Duisburg knife attacks begins The trial of a man accused of murder and attempted murder in the German city of Duisburg has begun. The accused individual shocked the court by repeatedly making Islamist gestures and refusing to stand for the judge.

October 23, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) The trial of a 27-year-old Syrian man accused of murder and attempted murder began at the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday. Federal prosecutors, who took over the case on August […]

Crime

Berlin: 174 arrested at unauthorized pro-Palestinian events Clashes broke [out] between police and protesters at an unauthorized demonstration in the Berlin district of Neukölln. At least 65 police officers were injured.

October 19, 2023   

(Deutsche Welle) At least 174 people were arrested and 65 police officers were injured at unauthorized pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Berlin on Wednesday night, according to a police spokesperson. Authorities had banned such protests, which have been called in response to the conflict […]