German Court Finds Islamic Center As An Extremist Organization
The German Federal Administrative Court ruled that the Blue Mosque, an Islamic center in Hamburg affiliated with the Iranian regime, is an "extremist Islamic organization."
The German Federal Administrative Court ruled that the Blue Mosque, an Islamic center in Hamburg affiliated with the Iranian regime, is an "extremist Islamic organization."
Despite an objection and complaint filed by the center, the Administrative Court of Hamburg upheld the classification of the center's activities as "extremism" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany.
The Court began hearing the complaint of the Islamic Center of Hamburg two months ago. However, the decision did not confirm findings by security organs that the center acted as an extension of the Iranian regime in Germany.
Previously, intelligence officials in Hamburg published documents that showed the connection of this center with extremist and Islamist groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
However, the center claims to be a purely religious foundation that deals with the religious affairs of the Shias.
Earlier, the Secular Islamic Association had asked Germany's Minister of the Interior in a letter to terminate all cooperation with the Central Council of Muslims immediately.
Additionally, the letter said that the Islamic Center of Hamburg promoted Iran's ideology and monitored Iranian citizens in exile as well as disseminating anti-Semitism.
Hamburg's local authorities expelled Seyed Soleiman Mosavi-Far, the deputy for the Islamic Center in November, accusing him of close ties to terrorist groups.
Aside from his involvement in and support for extremist and terrorist Shia organizations, Mosavi-Far had connections with two organizations providing financial assistance with connections to Hezbollah in Lebanon, according to German authorities.
Ultraconservatives, who dominate the current parliament and the government, are ready to go out of their way to ensure their continued supremacy in the political landscape.
The Reformist Front, an umbrella organization of several parties and groups elected Azar Mansouri as the Front's leader last week to replace aging political heavyweight Behzad Nabavi who led the front during the past two years. Mansouri was the front's spokesperson during this period.
However, based on the experience of the last two elections in 2020 and 2021, an electoral watchdog controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will determine who can become a candidate. In the 2020 parliamentary vote hundreds of reformist candidates were disqualified, allowing hardliners to dominate the parliament.
Ms. Mansouri took part in a meeting with former President Mohammad Khatami, who is considered the undeclared leader of Iran's reform movement although his recent stances indicate that he is not too eager to risk big changes in the current governing system.
According to Etemad Online, at the meeting Khatami endorsed Mansouri's qualifications as the leader of Iran's Reform Front and insisted on its independence. He said the power and capabilities of the Reform Front depends on its members' strengths and capabilities.
Khatami called on the front's leaders to do their best to ensure its cohesion, while also benefitting from the views of experts outside the front. He added that the front's views should reflect the collective opinion of its members.
At the meeting, Mansouri said that Khatami is the Reform Front's focal point and that all of the reformists agree on his key role.
Meanwhile, according to conservative website Nameh News, Mohammad Ali Namazi, a member of the Centrist Executives of Construction Party (EoC), which is a part of the Reform Front, has said that the Reform Front would have been more successful if its members elected EoC leader Hossein Marashi as its chairman.
However, he added that Mansouri's election as the Reform Front's leader does not mean that the views of her party, the Unity of Nation Party will determine the underlying policies of the front. Ms. Mansouri will have only one vote in determining those policies.
He said a majority of the front's member wanted Nabavi to be elected as the leader, but the aging politician was not interested in the position.
Meanwhile, Namazi made it clear that he is aware that the conservative-led Guardian Council that vets election candidates has already made its decisions about who are those who are allowed to run for the upcoming election.
At the same time changes in the leadership of the conservative camp indicated their strong interest in the upcoming election. In one of the latest developments, political heavyweight Mohammad Reza Bahonar joined SHANA [Persian acronym for the conservative alliance council of revolutionary forces]. Despite what the word "revolutionary" might indicate, the alliance consists of elderly politicians such as Bahonar and former Majles Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel who have been active in Iran's domestic politics for more than four decades.
However, Expediency Council member Bahonar's move to the forefront of electioneering could mean that traditional conservatives are serious in trying to keep their position in the Iranian political landscape despite the power of ultraconservatives, most notably the Paydari Party, to win the lion's share of the seats in the next parliament.
Nonetheless, as Namazi noted, getting through the Guardian Council's net is not guaranteed for anyone unless Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei pulls the right strings for them.
