Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, head of the banned Islamic Center Hamburg, has been expelled from the country. He is taking his time leaving the country until the last minute.
Shortly before the deadline expired, Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, head of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), which is classified as extremist and banned, left Germany. The 57-year-old Shiite cleric left the country voluntarily on Tuesday evening, the Hamburg Interior Ministry announced. The exit order issued two weeks ago gave him a deadline of midnight on Wednesday to do so.
On Tuesday, Mofatteh filed an urgent application with the Hamburg Administrative Court to challenge his deportation. The application was no longer valid once he left the country, said the spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry. The exit order also included a 20-year entry and residence ban on Mofatteh in Germany. If he violates this ban, he faces up to three years in prison.
Grote: Mofatteh’s departure is good news for Germany
“With the former head of the IZH, we have deported one of the most prominent Islamists in Germany,” said Hamburg’s Interior Senator Andy Grote (SPD). “The fact that Mr. Mofatteh has left the country is good news for security in Germany. We will consistently continue our tough course against Islamists using all legal means – including immigration law.”
Mofatteh’s expulsion was preceded by the ban on the IZH on July 24. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had described it as “an important Iranian propaganda center in Europe.” Five sub-organizations of the IZH were also banned, and all assets and facilities were confiscated in a nationwide raid. Since then, the Blue Mosque on Hamburg’s Outer Alster, which is operated by the IZH, has also been closed.
Ban on the IZH led to tensions between Berlin and Tehran
The ban on the IZH led to diplomatic tensions. The Iranian government summoned the German ambassador and, as a direct reaction, closed the German Language Institute (DSIT) in the capital Tehran three weeks ago.
In view of the expiring deadline for Mofatteh to leave the country, further threats followed on Tuesday: Reports had been received of “violations by other German government institutions,” said justice spokesman Asghar Jahangir. “Measures will be announced in due course.”
In recent years, there have been repeated tensions between Tehran and Berlin. Several German citizens, some of them with Iranian passports, are imprisoned in Iran. At the beginning of 2023, the German-Iranian Djamshid Sharmahd was sentenced to death on terrorism charges.
Mofatteh is considered the deputy of the Supreme Leader of Iran
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.
At the end of 2022, Mofatteh’s deputy, Sejed Soliman Mussawifar, was already expelled from Germany because of his links to the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which is banned in Germany. He had previously failed in an appeal against the expulsion before the Hamburg Higher Administrative Court in the second instance.
Source: Stern
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