Raid on Islamic Groups in Germany

by ALAN COWELL and MICHAEL SLACKMAN
The New York Times
December 14, 2010

https://www.legal-project.org/969/raid-on-islamic-groups-in-germany

Excerpt:

BERLIN — The German Interior Ministry ordered simultaneous raids in three states on Tuesday against what it called Salafist networks suspected of seeking the imposition of an Islamic state. The action signaled growing concern over the radical messages of some Islamic groups.

The raids, in Bremen, Lower Saxony and North Rhine Westphalia, were not linked to a recent terror alert reportedly inspired by phone calls from a man who said he wanted to quit working with terrorists and who warned of a pending Mumbai-style attack, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry statement said the raids were directed at two groups — Invitation to Paradise in the cities of Brunswick and Mönchengladbach and the Islamic Culture Center of Bremen on the North Sea coast. The two groups work closely together and share the same ideology, according to a security official quoted by The Associated Press. The authorities are seeking to outlaw both groups.

The statement said the groups were suspected of opposing constitutional order by seeking to "overthrow it in favor of an Islamic theocracy." There was no indication that any arrests were made.

One of the leaders of the Invitation to Paradise group had called for the imposition of Sharia law, the statement said, adding that the raids had been carried out under Germany's laws of association.

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