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
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has met victims’ families and survivors of Australia’s worst-ever terrorist and antisemitic attack that killed more than a dozen people, amid mounting tensions between the two nations.
Efforts to dismantle Hamas’ military infrastructure in Gaza are moving forward according to plan, despite tensions surrounding the ceasefire, a senior official involved in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace initiative told Ynet in an exclusive report Wednesday.
As diplomatic talks continue between Washington and Tehran, new reports from inside Iran describe intensifying repression and widespread fear among ordinary citizens.
U.S. President Donald Trump met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House for nearly three hours Wednesday, with both leaders confirming that negotiations with Iran remain ongoing but no final agreement has been reached.
The Pentagon has instructed a second aircraft carrier strike group to prepare for potential deployment to the Middle East as the United States increases military readiness in response to rising tensions with Iran, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Authorities in the U.S. state of Arizona detained a suspect Tuesday in connection with the reported abduction of Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of American television host Savannah Guthrie, as the high-profile investigation entered its ninth day.
Nine people were killed Tuesday in a mass shooting in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, and at least 27 others were injured, authorities confirmed late Tuesday, marking one of the deadliest attacks in Canada in recent years.