Deportation and imprisonment threatened
Former head of the Islamic Center to leave Germany
29.08.2024, 09:52
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The Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh as the deputy of the Iranian revolutionary leader Ali Khamemei in Germany – he has held the position for years. Now the leading figure of the IZH, which is now classified as extremist, is to leave the country within two weeks.
Five weeks after the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH), which is classified as extremist, was banned, its former director is now to be deported. The Hamburg Interior Ministry served 57-year-old Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh with a deportation order this week, a spokeswoman said. The letter asks him to leave Germany within 14 days. Otherwise, he faces deportation to his country of origin – at his own expense.
According to the authorities, this must be done by September 11, 2024. In addition, he is not allowed to re-enter Germany or stay here. If he does so, he faces up to three years in prison.
Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh had been head of the IZH since summer 2018. According to the Hamburg State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, he was considered the official representative of the Iranian revolutionary leader Ali Khamenei in Germany until recently.
Federal government manages Blue Mosque
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser banned the IZH on July 24 as a “significant Iranian propaganda center in Europe.” Nationwide, police confiscated assets and facilities belonging to the center and five of its affiliated sub-organizations. Since then, the Blue Mosque has also been under federal administration.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the association was aimed at spreading Islamic teachings in accordance with the Iranian leadership’s understanding of religion. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers the IZH, alongside the embassy, to be “the most important representation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Germany.”
In November 2022, the Bundestag called on the federal government to examine “whether and how the Islamic Center Hamburg can be closed as a hub for the Iranian regime’s operations in Germany.” For an association dedicated to religious practice, it is not easy to separate this from extremist activities. Mosque associations are relatively rarely banned.