Horst Seehofer – Eye on Islamism

Germany trains new generation of Muslim leaders In a groundbreaking move, Germany trains its own Muslim religious leaders, fostering a deeper connection with local communities. Muslim associations across the country are seeing a generational change and reorientation.

January 21, 2024 Christoph Strack

(Deutsche Welle) Osman Soyer is a religious affairs officer who was sworn into office this month in the Sehitlik Mosque in Berlin’s Neukölln district. He is one of 28 young men and women who have been trained as “religious representatives” by DITIB, […]

Iraqi migrants caught in border crisis in Belarus fly home

November 18, 2021 Zeina Karam, Daria Litvinova and Yuras Karmanau

(AP) Hundreds of Iraqis returned home Thursday from Belarus after abandoning their hopes of reaching the European Union — a repatriation that came after tensions at Poland’s eastern border, where thousands of migrants became stuck in a cold and soggy forest. Many […]

Belarus says around 7,000 migrants now in the country

November 18, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Belarus on Thursday said there were around 7,000 migrants in the ex-Soviet country, with around 2,000 of them camped on the border with EU member Poland. Thousands of mainly Middle Eastern migrants are camped around the border in what the West […]

EU accuses Belarus of ‘trafficking’ migrants toward border

November 10, 2021 Vanessa Gera, Monika Scislowska and Geir Moulson

(AP) European Union officials on Wednesday accused Belarus of state-sponsored “trafficking” of human lives by luring desperate migrants to the Polish border — the edge of the EU — where many are now stuck in makeshift camps in freezing weather. As the […]

Tensions rise in migrant standoff at Poland-Belarus border

November 9, 2021 Vanessa Gera and Monika Scislowska

(AP) Poland reinforced its border with Belarus with more riot police on Tuesday, a day after groups of migrants tried to storm through a razor-wire fence on the eastern frontier where thousands have camped on the Belarusian side in the tense standoff. […]

Germany: Several injured in knife attack on train The attack took place on an Intercity Express (ICE) train between the southern German cities of Regensburg and Nuremberg. Police have reported several injuries.

November 6, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German Federal Police on Saturday said there was a knife attack on a train in the southern German state of Bavaria, resulting in several injuries. The train was traveling near Neumarkt between the cities of Regensburg and Nuremberg at the […]

Germany: Over 5,000 migrant arrivals from Belarus in October

November 1, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AP) German police said on Monday that they registered more than 5,000 unauthorized border crossings last month by people who had arrived from Belarus, marking a significant uptick in the number of arrivals through a new and politically sensitive migration route. Federal […]

Germany proposes more border patrols to stem Belarus migrant flow

October 19, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Germany has suggested increasing joint patrols along its border with Poland in response to increasing numbers of migrants arriving via Belarus, according to a letter seen by AFP on Tuesday. The presence of border forces should be “noticeably” increased, German Interior […]

EU mulling ways to end jet lease to Belarus’ airline

October 18, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AP) European Union foreign ministers looked at ways on Monday to stop the illegal migration into the 27-nation bloc from neighboring Belarus, including stopping companies from leasing jets to Belarusian airline Belavia. The EU has accused the government of Belarusian President Alexander […]

Germany, Netherlands suspend deportations to Afghanistan

August 11, 2021 Frank Jordans

(AP) Germany and the Netherlands have suspended any deportations of migrants to Afghanistan due to the tense security situation as Taliban insurgents make sweeping gains in the Central Asian country. Almost 30,000 Afghans in Germany, many of them failed asylum-seekers, are currently […]

Hamas flag banned in Germany under new terror rules

June 25, 2021 Unlisted Author

(AFP) Germany’s Bundestag lower house of parliament passed a law on Friday outlawing symbols of groups designated as terrorist organisations by the EU, including the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. The new law, which must still be approved by the Bundesrat upper house, […]

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 Unlisted Author

(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 […]

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 Unlisted Author

(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 […]

Iranian-backed ‘Al Quds Day’ anti-Zionist hatefest canceled for second year running in Berlin

April 29, 2021 Ben Cohen

(Algemeiner) The annual “Al Quds Day” march and rally calling for the violent elimination of the state of Israel will not take place in Berlin next month for the second year running, police in the German capital confirmed on Thursday. Sponsored by […]

Germany: Weather system named ‘Ahmet’ in diversity campaign Europe's low pressure system Ahmet is the first of 14 wintertime highs and lows named to highlight the continent's diversity.

January 5, 2021 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s DWD weather service on Tuesday used Ahmet as the official name for a low pressure system over Romania that’s headed for Germany and Poland and set to bump into Lisa, another low over Italy, and Alexander, a high over […]

Germany takes in sick kids, others from Greek migrant camps

December 17, 2020 Unlisted Author

(AP) A plane carrying 88 asylum-seekers, including 19 sick children, arrived in Germany on Thursday as part of the country’s pledge to take in migrants from camps in Greece, the Interior Ministry said. The charter flight was the last as part of […]

Germany to allow deportations of ‘suspect’ Syrians

December 11, 2020 Deborah Cole

(AFP) Germany said Friday it would allow deportation of Syrians to their war-ravaged homeland from 2021 if they are deemed a security risk, five years after a massive refugee influx. The EU’s biggest economic power and most populous member allowed in hundreds […]

German minister wants ‘criminals’ expelled to Syria, despite asylum safeguards Interior Minister Horst Seehofer wants Germany's general ban on deportations to war-torn Syria weakened to return persons deemed criminal or dangerous. Rights groups accuse him of pandering to the far right.

November 27, 2020 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s current general deportation stop to Syria should not be extended, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said Friday, urging that individual case-by-case decisions be made “at least for criminals and those considered a threat.” In 2012, Germany passed a ban on […]

Germany’s imams seen as key in combating radicalization Imam training is in the spotlight of this year's German Islam Conference. In light of recent terror attacks, Germany's interior minister said a new training program for German-speaking imams was 'money well-spent.'

November 10, 2020 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The latest spate of terror attacks in France and Austria will not hamper the cooperation between the government and Germany’s Muslim community, Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday. “We won’t let terrorism and extremism derail us,” Seehofer said at […]

Islamist terrorism: Germany is home to more than 600 agitators Islamist terrorism has struck again in Europe — this time in Vienna and Nice. Germany has also been the scene of numerous attacks, and the security forces keep tabs on hundreds of potential attackers.

November 4, 2020 Matthias von Hein

(Deutsche Welle) At least one of the assailants in the Vienna attack was known to police. The 20-year-old, shot dead on Monday evening, had made several attempts to leave the country and join the so-called Islamic State (IS). It would appear, however, that […]

German official questions Syria deportation halt

October 23, 2020 Unlisted Author

(AP) Germany’s top security official is calling for a review of the country’s rules prohibiting all deportations to Syria after a young Syrian who had recently been released from prison was arrested as a suspect in a fatal stabbing that prosecutors suspect […]

Deadly stabbing in Germany investigated as terrorist attack

October 21, 2020 Femke Colborne

(AFP) A knife attack that killed one tourist and seriously injured another in the German city of Dresden in early October is being treated as a terrorist attack, prosecutors said Wednesday, turning fears to Islamist violence after a string of far-right attacks. […]

EU looks at new migration pact amid divisions, aims for December deal

October 8, 2020 Jan Strupczewski

(Reuters) EU governments began talks on Thursday on a proposed overhaul of migration rules to resolve years of bitter divisions as Germany, chairing the discussions, expressed optimism a deal might be possible by December. The video-conference of EU interior ministers was the […]

German minister defends decision to take refugees from Greek islands

September 16, 2020 Holger Hansen

(Reuters) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Wednesday defended Germany’s decision to take a further 1,553 refugees from camps in Greece, saying the country could be proud of its role in Europe’s migration crisis. On Tuesday, Germany announced it would take in 408 […]

Europe should take more minors from Moria migrant camp: Germany’s Scholz

September 12, 2020 Christian Kraemer

(Reuters) Plans by European countries to take some 400 unaccompanied children from the burned-down Moria refugee camp in Greece should mark just the beginning of their efforts, German Vice Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday. Fires destroyed Greece’s biggest refugee camp on […]

Germany lambasts ‘shameful’ handling of migration by EU

July 7, 2020 Martin Trauth

(AFP) It is “shameful” that the European Union has still not found a solution for the care of asylum seekers five years after the migration crisis, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, whose country holds the EU presidency, said Tuesday. Seehofer was speaking […]

Mossad gave Berlin intel on Hezbollah ops on German soil ahead of ban — report Unnamed Israeli official tells TV Germans were provided info on warehouses where terror group stashed materials for explosives, as well as money laundering networks

May 2, 2020 Unlisted Author

(Times of Israel) Israel’s Mossad spy agency gave information to Germany on Hezbollah’s activities on its soil ahead of the country banning the Lebanese terror group this week, Channel 12 news reported Saturday. Germany branded the entirety of the Iranian-backed group — […]

German government bans Hezbollah — Interior Ministry Authorities have designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization and banned its activity on German soil. Police conducted raids on four associations linked to the Islamist group.

April 30, 2020 Leah Carter

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Thursday banned all Hezbollah activities in the country, his ministry spokesman said on Twitter. He also confirmed that “police measures are underway in several federal states concurrently,” and added that even in times of […]

German Jew sues Berlin to stop antisemitic Quds Day rally Iranian regime-sponsored rally attracts neo-Nazis, members of Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

April 28, 2020 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) After the city-state of Berlin declined to take action against an annual Iranian regime-sponsored protest calling for the destruction of Israel, German Jewish retiree Gilbert Kallenborn filed a lawsuit to stop the rally. The Berlin-based B.Z. paper reported on Monday […]

Germany, Luxembourg to take in migrant children from Greece

April 7, 2020 Unlisted Author

(AP) Germany plans to take in up to 50 unaccompanied minors staying at overcrowded refugee camps in Greece, while Luxembourg has agreed to accept 12, government officials said Tuesday. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer will propose to the Cabinet on Wednesday a plan […]

Israel’s ambassador urges Germany to ban Hezbollah activities German politician Eva Högl said the Hezbollah ban is an 'important building block in the fight against antisemitism.'

March 5, 2020 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) Israeli Ambassador to Germany Jeremy Issacharoff has stepped up his push for the German government to ban activities of the Lebanese Hezbollah terrorist organization in the federal republic. “The decision of the Bundestag, which calls for the prohibition of Hezbollah […]

EU backs Greece and rejects Turkish ‘use of migrants’

March 4, 2020 Anne-Laure Mondesert

(AFP) EU members on Wednesday rejected what they said is Turkey’s use of desperate migrants to pressure its neighbours — and strongly backed Greece’s border crackdown. In a statement agreed by European interior ministers meeting in Brussels, the 27 capitals said the […]

Germany’s Seehofer touts expert panel on Islamophobia after Hanau killings An expert group to tackle Islamophobia in Germany has been floated by Chancellor Angela Merkel's interior minister. The move follows a racist multiple shooting last week and precedes an integration summit in Berlin.

February 29, 2020 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced on Saturday the creation of an “independent expert group on Islamophobia” (Muslimfeindlichkeit), saying it would emulate current ministerial panels on anti-Semitism and antiziganism, meaning hostility toward Jewish and Roma communities respectively. His call follows a charge […]

Germany sees 14 percent drop in asylum claims

January 8, 2020 Unlisted Author

(Local) Last year, 111,094 people applied for asylum in Germany — a drop of 14.3 percent compared to the previous year. Government figures show 8,534 fewer applications for asylum were submitted in 2019 than in the previous year when 129,628 claims were […]

Germany: Nine terror attacks prevented since Berlin Christmas market killings Police say two terror-related incidents were prevented last month alone. Germany has been on heightened alert for fresh atrocities following the death of 'Islamic State' (IS) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October.

December 22, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Since the 2016 terrorist attack in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, German authorities have prevented a further nine attacks of a similar nature, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said Sunday. Indeed, last month alone, two acts of terror were thwarted, the BKA told Germany’s Welt […]

Germany: Imams will have to prove they speak the language Religious leaders from other countries could soon be forced to prove they can speak German in order to stay in the country. Critics say such a law would worsen the country's shortage of Muslim clerics.

November 7, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The German Cabinet has introduced a draft of a bill that would require clergy from countries outside the EU to prove their knowledge of German in order to reside in the country. Although the law would apply to clerics from […]

German authorities investigating stolen truck ramming A man from Syria has been arrested after a truck plowed into a line of cars in the western city of Limburg. German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that as yet, there was no clear motive behind the incident.

October 8, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German authorities were investigating Tuesday why a man rammed a stolen truck into a line of cars in Limburg, leaving eight people injured as well as the driver. Officials confirmed that the 32-year-old suspected hijacker had been detained. A judge later issued a […]

Greece transfers 570 migrants from overcrowded camp

October 6, 2019 Demetris Nellas

(AP) Greek authorities were transferring around 570 migrants from an overcrowded camp on the island of Lesbos on Sunday, officials said. A regularly scheduled ferry left Lesbos carrying the migrants, who used to live in the migrant camp of Moria. Authorities say […]

Germany’s Horst Seehofer warns of ‘refugee wave’ bigger than in 2015 German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has called on the EU to do more to support Turkey and avoid another refugee crisis. If nothing is done, he said, the crisis may become 'even greater than four years ago.'

October 6, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has warned of a larger influx of refugees than that seen in Europe in 2015. He made the statement during an official visit to Greece. Traveling with incoming European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, […]

Greece: EU members refusing refugees should be sanctioned

October 4, 2019 Derek Gatopoulos and Suzan Fraser

(AP) Greece said Friday it will call on the European Union to impose sanctions on member states that refuse to accept refugees, as senior European officials visited Ankara and Athens to try and stem a surge in migrant arrivals overwhelming Greek islands. […]

Greece says Turkey can and must control migrant flows to Europe

October 4, 2019 Karolina Tagaris

(Reuters) Greece’s prime minister accused Turkey on Friday of appearing to “exploit” Europe’s migrant crisis for its own ends and said Ankara could and should control migrant flows to the continent. Greece, the route into the European Union for nearly a million […]

EU commissioner says ‘urgent need’ to prevent migrant departures from Turkey

October 3, 2019 Unlisted Author

(AFP) EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Thursday there was an “urgent need” to stop illegal departures from Turkey as Greece struggles to cope with a sharp increase in the refugee arrivals. “Irregular arrivals to Greece increased over the past weeks and […]

After ‘Post’ expose, Germany investigates terror in pro-Hezbollah center Prosecutor opens probes but states pro-terrorism pledge is not criminal

August 31, 2019 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) Germany is investigating possible terrorism activities within a pro-Hezbollah center in the country, following an expose last week by the Jerusalem Post. However, a member’s declaration that “we are proud of terrorism” was not classified as targeting the federal republic. […]

German Hezbollah mosque declares it is proud of terrorism and pro-Khamenei According to the intelligence document reviewed by the Post, the number of Hezbollah members climbed from 105 in 2017 to 110 in 2018 in North Rhine-Westphalia.

August 29, 2019 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) The Hezbollah mosque in the German city of Münster posted a shocking video in December on its Facebook page, announcing it was proud of terrorism and its allegiance to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The Washington-based […]

Germany’s Seehofer warns refugees who take Syria vacations Refugees who return to Syria for holidays might lose their refugee status in Germany, German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told the Bild newspaper. Some newcomers simultaneously claim to be fleeing persecution there.

August 18, 2019 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced a tough response to Syrian refugees who leave Germany for holidays in their home country. “If somebody, a Syrian refugee, regularly takes holidays in Syria, he cannot honestly claim to be persecuted in Syria,” Seehofer told […]

Syrian citizen arrested in attack on German man wearing kippah

July 29, 2019 Toby Axelrod

(JTA) A resident of Potsdam who was wearing a kippah with a Star of David on it was the victim of an anti-Semitic attack. The victim reported being followed, spat upon and insulted in the weekend attack. Police quickly arrested two men, […]

Migrant rescue sailboat defies Salvini, docks in Italy

July 6, 2019 Charles Onians

(AFP) A charity rescue vessel on Saturday brought 41 shipwrecked migrants into port in Lampedusa, the second boat to defy far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini’s bid to close Italian ports to them. Mediterranea’s Italian-flagged Alex was met by a strong police presence […]

Increase of Hezbollah members in German state, says intel report Chancellor Merkel refuses to outlaw terrorist entity in Germany.

July 4, 2019 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) The intelligence agency for Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia revealed on Thursday that the number of Hezbollah members rose in 2018. According to the intelligence document reviewed by the Jerusalem Post, the number of Hezbollah members climbed from […]

Germany is accused of downplaying anti-Semitic attacks by Muslims

June 14, 2019 Cnaan Liphshiz

(JTA) The annual al-Quds Day march in Berlin is often cited as a prime example of the rise of so-called new anti-Semitism in Europe: hatred of Jews in connection with Israel, often by people from Muslim societies. Despite attempts by organizers in recent years […]

Hezbollah members rise to 1,050 in Germany amid growing Jew-hatred — intel Merkel rejects appeals to ban Lebanese terrorist group.

June 4, 2019 Benjamin Weinthal

(Jerusalem Post) A new German intelligence report asserts the number of Hezbollah members and supporters has climbed from 950 in 2017 to 1,050 in 2018 amid rising Jew-hatred in the federal republic. The Jerusalem Post reviewed the hair-raising new numbers from the […]