Mass raids against Islamic center suspected of working with Hezbollah conducted by Germany

The German Police have conducted a mass raid at 54 sites across the country as part of an investigation into an Islamic centre for alleged links to Iran and the Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

As reported by the Welt, the Ministry of the Interior said the operation carried out on November 16 primarily targeted the Islamic Centre of Hamburg (IZH) as well as five affiliate groups as hundreds of police conducted raids in seven German states.

“I want to make clear that we are acting against Islamists, not against a religion or another state”, said  Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, highlighting, that “especially now when many Jews feel particularly threatened, we do not tolerate Islamist propaganda or anti-Semitic and anti-Israel hate speech.”

Faeser said the IZH has long been monitored by the domestic intelligence agency. The ministry said the centre supported the “revolutionary concept” championed by Iran’s supreme leader, which may be a violation of Germany’s constitutional order.