2024-05-12 19:10:56
About 2,300 people joined today’s demonstration called by the Islamist group “Muslim Interactive” in Hamburg, according to police estimates, after the action was given the green light by the authorities only under strict conditions, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Demonstrators gathered in the afternoon in the St. Georg neighborhood near the central train station amid a heavy police presence. Most of the participants were men.
The protest took place after more than 1,000 people attended a rally in Hamburg called by the same organizers last month. The previous one was peaceful, but participants made calls for a caliphate.
This caused outrage across Germany and was denounced by leading politicians. Muslim Interactive is classified as an extremist group by the German authorities.
As a result, the authorities allowed today’s rally, held under the motto “Against Censorship and Dictatorship of Opinion”, to go ahead under strict conditions, including a ban on inciting hatred or violence.
At the start of the protest, the conditions were read aloud in German and Arabic.
Furthermore, Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied and Israeli flags cannot be burned or damaged, police warned yesterday.
It is also forbidden to call for a caliphate in Germany in words, images or writing. At the previous demonstration on April 27, the words “Caliphate is the solution” could be read on placards. The speeches also called for a caliphate as a solution to social problems in Islamic countries.
A caliphate is a religious state with a spiritual leader, a caliph, who claims to be the successor of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. There are several historical examples in the Islamic world of a caliphate, but the most recent and controversial one was established by the Islamic State terrorist organization in large parts of Syria and Iraq. It was widely condemned, including by Muslim scholars.
Against the wishes of the organizers, today’s event was given permission to be held only as a stationary rally, without a procession, according to the police. The organizers also announced a counter-demonstration with 100 participants.