By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
TEHRAN/BERLIN (Worthy News) – Tehran has condemned a decision by the German government to ban an Iran-linked Islamic group over “extremism” and to close one of Germany’s oldest mosques.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the German ambassador over the ban, Worthy News learned from several sources on Thursday.
On the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the ministry called the ban “an example of Islamophobia” and a violation of freedom of expression.
Asked about the summoning of the ambassador, a German Foreign Ministry official said it was up to Iran to move toward improving ties.
The Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) had been under investigation for several months over its alleged support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, which Iran backs.
Hezbollah has been classified as a “terrorist” group by Germany and several of the country’s allies, including Israel and the United States.
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that IZH was banned for propagating extremism and that its famous “Blue Mosque” was being searched by police.
‘NOT ANTI-RELIGION’
“It is very important to me to make a clear distinction here: we are not acting against a religion,” Faeser stressed, adding it was aimed at a group accused of undermining the German state as well as women’s rights.
German sources said the Imam Ali Mosque, known locally as the Blue Mosque, is one of Germany’s oldest mosques and is operated by the IZH.
It comes amid broader concerns about Islamic extremism and related antisemitism in Germany, which has seen an influx of migrants from mainly Islamic countries.
IZH is considered an extension of Iran’s Islamic leadership and is thought to have a “significant influence” over certain mosques and associations, said Germany’s domestic intelligence services.
The IZH is being probed for “spreading aggressive antisemitism,” Faeser explained, adding that raids against the group in November established proof of connections to Hezbollah and led to this week’s ban.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry said that it “banned the Hamburg Islamic Centre and its affiliated organizations throughout Germany to date, as it is an Islamist extremist organization pursuing anti-constitutional objectives.”
The ministry accused the IZH of spreading Iranian revolutionary ideas and spreading those ideas “in an aggressive and militant manner.”
HAMBURG RESIDENTS CONCERNED
There had been calls from concerned Hamburg residents for years to investigate the IZH, Worthy News learned.
Affiliated institutions in the federal states of Bremen, Bavaria, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Hesse, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Berlin were also being investigated.
The ministry said 53 properties were being searched, and four mosques were shut.
Germany’s Interior Ministry last year said the IZH was suspected of “acting against constitutional order” and of “supporting [the] terror organization Hezbollah.”
In 2020, Germany designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization and banned its activities on German soil.
With further investigations ongoing in Europe’s largest economy, German police vehicles were seen outside the Blue Mosque in Hamburg, and more raids were expected despite Iran’s opposition.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Wildfires raged across southern Europe on Monday, forcing mass evacuations as temperatures climbed again following a June heatwave linked to thousands of excess deaths.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Congress will make another push to pass the SAVE America Act after lawmakers return from the July 4 recess, signaling what could be the fourth — and possibly final — attempt to advance President Donald Trump’s top election-integrity measure.
The website for the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, was deactivated after the temporary Trump administration office reached its planned July 4, 2026, self-termination deadline.
Funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei turned into a charged display of rage against the United States, Israel, President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as massive crowds gathered in Tehran and called for revenge.
Israel is preparing to hand two limited areas in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army under a U.S.-backed framework agreement, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the IDF will remain in most of the security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed.
New details have emerged about allegations that some United Nations human rights experts were pressured by colleagues not to publish evidence of sexual violence committed by Hamas against Israeli and Jewish women and girls, following a dramatic appeal by freed hostage Ilana Gritzewsky nearly 1,000 days after the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
For the first time in nearly 2,000 years, Jewish authorities are carrying out major conservation work at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the biblical burial site of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.