In Germany, the Interior Ministry of Brandenburg, near Berlin, has banned the “Islamic Center Fürstenwalde al-Salam (IZF)” due to alleged ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. The Interior Minister, Michael Stübgen, a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), explained that the centre’s activities conflict with international understanding and constitutional order. He emphasised the need to suppress the “embers of Islamist culture” likened to “the Stone Age.”

Search operations have been conducted at the centre in Fürstenwalde/Spree and in homes across Brandenburg and Berlin. The crackdown occurs amidst Germany’s intensifying efforts to combat ‘radical Islamism’ as described, just days before regional parliamentary elections in Brandenburg, where far-right parties are gaining momentum.

The IZF, founded in 2018, operates a mosque and offers various activities for Muslims in the area. In July 2023, the association was labelled an extremist by the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution for ‘promoting antisemitic rhetoric’ and ‘denying Israel’s right to exist’.