Iran condemns Germany's closure of Islamic Center Hamburg

Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, condemned Germany’s decision to shut down the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), during a phone call with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock yesterday. The conversation came after German police raided 53 properties linked to the centre, accusing it of supporting extremism and Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah.

“The closure of Islamic centers in Germany is a completely political action in line with Islamophobia and serving the interests of the Zionist regime. The German government must accept its consequences,” he said.

Worshipers had to recite Dua Kumail outside Islamische Zentrum Hamburg (IZH) while the Regime in Deutschland/Germany kept it seized.

Shameless! pic.twitter.com/EPOfri2mrs

— Hussain Parsaiyan (@hus787) July 26, 2024

On Wednesday, Germany’s Interior Ministry said it had “banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organization pursuing anti-constitutional objectives.” In addition to supporting a “terrorist” organisation, the centre is accused of promoting “aggressive anti-Semitism” and spreading “authoritarian, theocratic rule.”

According to PressTV, as part of the ban, the ministry said it will also close four Shia mosques, including Hamburg’s Blue Mosque, also known as the Imam Ali Mosque, one of Germany’s oldest mosques.

Baerbock, for her part, said that the closed centre can pursue its rights through legal mechanisms in Germany. The discussion also covered the latest developments in the region, talks between Iran and the remaining participants to the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the removal of the anti-Iran sanctions, and some bilateral consular issues.

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