Germany bans a Muslim organization for its extremist positions

BERLIN, (DPA/EP). – The German authorities have banned this Wednesday a Muslim organization based in the city of Braunschweig, accused of spreading its extremist positions mainly through the Internet.

As the Government seeks to tackle growing extremism in the country, the Police have launched a series of raids against members of the Muslim Association (DMG) organisation. These operations have been concentrated especially on two apartments located in Berlin, the country’s capital.

The Ministry of the Interior of the federal state of Lower Saxony, where Braunschweig is located, highlighted the importance of this ban because it considered that the organization conflicts with the German democratic and constitutional order.

“We do not tolerate associations in which supposed non-believers, women and Jews, in addition to society as a whole, are called to fight,” he stated before clarifying that the ban represents a “hard blow against the Salafist scene in Lower Saxony and beyond”.

“Every week, the appearance of these well-known Salafists at the national level is made accessible to a large number of people through online channels,” he warned. According to data from the Ministry, the organization’s YouTube channel alone has about 70,000 subscribers, which keeps the risk of radicalization “high.”

The authorities ruled out that any arrests have been made in the context of the raids, but have pointed out that materials belonging to the organization have been seized.