He is considered the deputy of the Iranian revolutionary leader Khamenei in Germany. The Islamic Center Hamburg, led by Mohammed Hadi Mofatteh, is banned. He has now been given a reprieve.
The head of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), which is classified as extremist and has since been banned, must leave Germany by September 11. 57-year-old Mohammed Hadi Mofatteh received a corresponding deportation order from the Hamburg Interior Ministry this week, a spokeswoman for the authorities said. If he does not comply, he faces forced deportation to Iran – at his own expense.
According to the IZH, Mofatteh is the highest spiritual authority of the Shiites in Europe – with the exception of Great Britain. According to the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, he is required to report to and follow the instructions of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is considered his deputy in Germany. “Mofatteh is a well-trained representative of the current regime in Tehran. His family is firmly integrated into the state-religious elite of Iran,” says the most recent report on him by the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution. He has headed the IZH since 2018.
It was initially unclear whether Mofatteh had already complied with the deportation order. The authority spokeswoman did not want to comment on the question of whether he had already left the country. Based on the 14-day deadline for leaving the country, the order was probably served on him on Wednesday. Mofatteh is also barred from returning to Germany: if he enters the country again, he faces up to three years in prison.
Expulsion was not unexpected after IZH ban
The expulsion probably came as no surprise to the 57-year-old: five weeks ago, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) banned his IZH and five other organizations associated with the center as “significant Iranian propaganda centers in Europe.” All assets and facilities were confiscated in a nationwide raid at the end of July – since then, the Blue Mosque on Hamburg’s Outer Alster, which is operated by the IZH, has also been closed.
For Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD), the expulsion of Mofatteh is the next logical step. “As the highest religious representative of the inhuman regime in Tehran, his time in Germany has come to an end. We will continue to fight Islamic extremism with all our might and will make full use of all means available under residency law.”
At the end of 2022, the deputy head of the IZH, Sejed Soliman Mussawifar, was expelled from Germany because of his links to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. He had previously failed in a second instance appeal against the expulsion before the Hamburg Higher Administrative Court. The pro-Iranian terrorist organization has been banned in Germany since 2020.
Three lawsuits against IZH ban at the Federal Administrative Court
According to the ban issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Tehran-controlled IZH pursues anti-constitutional goals by spreading the ideology of the Islamic Revolution in Germany.
Representatives of the banned association described this as an “innuendo” and filed a lawsuit. According to a court spokeswoman, three lawsuits have now been filed with the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig. After the also banned Center for Islamic Culture in Frankfurt, the IZH itself and, in the meantime, the Islamic Center in Berlin have also filed lawsuits.
The main aim of the lawsuit is to reopen the Blue Mosque to believers, explained IZH representatives. By closing the Imam Ali Mosque – the official name of the place of worship built in the 1960s – the faithful Shiites who gather there will be denied an important religious institution. They will also be prevented from practicing their religion freely and undisturbed, as enshrined in the constitution.
Believers have been demonstrating for weeks during Friday prayers in front of the Blue Mosque
According to the court spokeswoman, a decision on an urgent application filed by the Center for Islamic Culture in Frankfurt is not expected until the end of September at the earliest. The other proceedings are likely to take significantly longer.
In recent weeks, believers have repeatedly gathered on the street in front of the closed mosque for Friday prayers and demonstrated for the reopening of the place of worship.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
