Thursday, 14 June 2012
The homes of members belonging to three ultra-conservative
Muslim organizations were targeted in police raids across Germany.
(Reuters)
German police raided dozens of buildings across the country early
on Thursday in a crackdown to “turn up the pressure” on “radical”
Salafi Islamists suspected of plotting against the state, officials
said.
The homes of members belonging to three ultra-conservative Muslim organizations were targeted in the raids, which around 1,000 officers carried out, a ministry spokesman said.
Regional state interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, described the police operation as a “decisive step by the security services in the fight against dangerous extremists.”
The homes of members belonging to three ultra-conservative Muslim organizations were targeted in the raids, which around 1,000 officers carried out, a ministry spokesman said.
Regional state interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Ralf Jaeger, described the police operation as a “decisive step by the security services in the fight against dangerous extremists.”
“Today’s operation shows that we’re turning up the pressure on the Salafis,” Jaeger said.
The move also accompanied an announcement from Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, saying the country has banned one particular network known as “Millatu Ibrahim.”
“(The Millatu Ibrahim group) works against our constitutional order,” he told reporters.
At the beginning of May, German authorities opened a probe against 44 members of the Islamic Salafi community and 37 others after violent clashes with police in the western town of Solingen.
The Salafis have raised concern with their drive to convert non-Muslims, a campaign that has involved handing out 25 million copies of the Quran in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Authorities estimate there are about 2,500 Salafis in Germany. They espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam, but officials in Germany accuse them of also condoning violence against state institutions.
The move also accompanied an announcement from Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, saying the country has banned one particular network known as “Millatu Ibrahim.”
“(The Millatu Ibrahim group) works against our constitutional order,” he told reporters.
At the beginning of May, German authorities opened a probe against 44 members of the Islamic Salafi community and 37 others after violent clashes with police in the western town of Solingen.
The Salafis have raised concern with their drive to convert non-Muslims, a campaign that has involved handing out 25 million copies of the Quran in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Authorities estimate there are about 2,500 Salafis in Germany. They espouse an austere form of Sunni Islam, but officials in Germany accuse them of also condoning violence against state institutions.
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