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Germany: Ex-head of banned Islamic center faces deportation

Timothy Jones
August 29, 2024

German authorities have issued a deportation order to the former head of the Islamic Center Hamburg. The organization was recently banned as espousing an extremist ideology.

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Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh
Mofatteh was seen by domestic intelligence as the representative of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in GermanyImage: Christian Charisius/dpa/pciture alliance

Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, the ex-head of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), was issued a deportation order this week, five weeks after  German authorities banned the organization, a spokeswoman for Hamburg's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday.

The order means the 57-year-old Shiite Muslim cleric has been called upon to leave Germany within 14 days or be deported to his homeland — Iran — at his own cost, she said.

Mofatteh is also forbidden to reenter Germany or spend any time in the country. If he were to disobey, he would face a prison sentence of up to three years.

Fears of Iranian influence

The IZH, which Mottafeh headed from 2018 until its forced closure in July, was considered by German domestic intelligence authorities to be controlled by Iran.

In addition, the center promoted "an Islamist-extremist, totalitarian ideology in Germany," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement issued to justify the move to close it down.

"This Islamist ideology is opposed to human dignity, women's rights, an independent judiciary and our democratic government," she said, stressing, however, that the move was not directed against Islam as a religion.

Her ministry said the IZH acted as a "representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution'" and spread this ideology in an "aggressive and militant way."

Policeman standing in front of blue mosque
The IZH had its home at Hamburg's Imam Ali Moschee, known as the 'Blue Mosque'Image: Daniel Bockwoldt/dpa/picture alliance

Mottafeh was seen by Hamburg's branch of Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), as speaking for Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Germany.

The banning of the IZH also included the confiscation of the organization's well-known "Blue Mosque," situated in an upmarket area on the shore of the port city's Outer Alster Lake. 

The building, officially called the Imam Ali Mosque, is now under the control of the German government.

This article draws on reporting from the dpa news agency. 

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