German mosque took orders from Iran, aided Hezbollah before closure - report
Security officials raided the Islamic Centre in Hamburg earlier this year, seizing documents and data, leading to the Centre’s closure in July.
The Islamic Centre Hamburg, which was recently shut down by Germany’s Interior Ministry, had taken direct orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran and aided Hezbollah, according to documents seen by Germany’s Der Spiegel.
Security officials raided the Islamic center earlier this year, seizing documents and data, leading to the center’s closure in July and the confiscation of Hamburg’s Blue Mosque.
In addition to the Hamburg-based center, subsidiaries in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin were also banned, with four Shi’ite mosques to be closed, said the ministry.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had summoned the German ambassador in Tehran in protest of the ban.
“Unfortunately, what happened in Germany is an example of Islamophobia and is in opposition to the teachings of the Abrahamic faiths,” the Iranian ministry said on X, formerly Twitter. The ministry said the ban violated freedom of expression and promoted violence and extremism.
Der Spiegel reviewed a 220-page ban order issued by the Interior Ministry, which was said to reveal how closely the center was working with the Islamic regime and the ties it had with Hezbollah.
Direct communication from Iran
The documents reportedly revealed that the center’s head, Mohammad Mofatteh, communicated closely and regularly with the office of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The communication between Mofatteh and the regime extended to WhatsApp messaging, where Mofatteh would reportedly text with top Iranian official Mehdi Mostafavi. The pair exchanged over 650 messages from late 2021 until late 2023.
Mostafavi reportedly instructed Mofatteh on “focus areas for 2024” and “Khamenei’s messages for German-speaking pilgrims in 2023.”
Mofatteh reportedly also received anti-Israel propaganda.
The Iranian officials also allegedly sent messages on how to sell Hamas’s October 7 attack. Mofatteh was advised to say how the “Islamic resistance” had “no other means” to stop Israel’s “crimes.”
In addition to direct communications with the regime, Khamenei’s personal seal and stamp were found on certificates for donations allegedly sent to Yemen.
Connections with Hezbollah
Investigators also reportedly found connections between the Islamic center and Hezbollah, allegedly finding documents showing a sheikh connected to the terror group had traveled through Germany thanks to the “financial, moral, and advisory support” of the center’s former director.
Der Spiegel reported that the sheikh’s personal phone number was also saved in the director’s phone.
Mofatteh had asserted in previous statements that there was no reason for the mosque’s closure and that “the Islam we preach here is the Islam of reason, the Islam of peace, friendship and peaceful coexistence between people.”
The site said his lawyer refused to respond to Der Spiegel’s questions.
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