The Federal Administrative Court of Germany upheld a ruling that the Islamic Center in Hamburg, also known as the “Blue Mosque,” is an "extremist Islamic organization” for its activities, such as supporting the Iranian government.

German court declares Islamic centre, Blue Mosque, extremist organisationhttps://t.co/17rYv87qQt

— Peoples Gazette (@GazetteNGR) July 2, 2023

On June 30th, the Administrative Court of Hamburg upheld the classification of the Islamic Center’s activities by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany as "Islamic extremism,” even after the center filed a complaint against this categorization.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution identified the activities of the Blue Mosque, one of the oldest and biggest Shia mosques in Germany, as falling under the classification of "extremist Islamist organizations” as early as 2018 and 2019.

The Administrative Court began hearing the complaint filed by the Islamic Center of Hamburg and conducted oral hearings last April and May. While German intelligence officials in Hamburg published documents showing the links between the Blue Mosque and the Islamic Republic as well as other Islamist groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the court’s decision did not confirm these findings that the Islamic Center acted as an extension of the Iranian regime in Europe.

ICYMI: The German Federal Administrative Court has ruled that the Blue Mosque, an Islamic center in Hamburg affiliated with the Iranian regime, is an "extremist Islamic organization."https://t.co/NknQd5Lxgw pic.twitter.com/jrMGl8fLwn

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) July 2, 2023

The court’s ruling also acknowledges a partial acceptance of the complaint filed by the Islamic Center of Hamburg, leading to the prohibition of the release of specific sections of the report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. But their challenge regarding the categorization of the Blue Mosque as an "extremist Islamic organization" was unsuccessful, citing that this aspect was legally valid and therefore unobjectionable.

According to a report published by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Germany, the activities of the Islamic Center in Hamburg have fallen under the classification of an “extremist Islamic organization” that actively "pursues anti-constitutional objectives."

70 years too late!

— Ayatollah Ghilmeini #FreeIran #JusticeForMalkiRoth (@AyatGhilmeini) July 3, 2023

However, the full text of the Court’s verdict is yet to be released to the public, and all parties involved in the case can still file an appeal.

The Secular Islamic Association recently sent a letter to the German interior minister, Nancy Faeser, urging her to immediately stop cooperating with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. This German Islamic organization has ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The organization also mentioned the Islamic Center of Hamburg's membership in the Council as the reason for terminating cooperation with them. The letter also added that the Blue Mosque is engaged in spreading anti-semitic messages, promotes the Islamic Republic of Iran, and performs surveillance work on Iranian citizens living in exile.

Last November 2022, Hamburg’s local authorities expelled the deputy head of the Islamic Center in Hamburg, Seyed Soleiman Mosavi-Far, accusing him of being closely connected with terrorist organizations. He was accused of supporting terrorist and extremist Shia organizations and sharing videos that promote these groups on social media, including promotional videos and photos of Hezbollah and tributes to the organization’s casualties on Facebook.

Along with these accusations, the German government also said Mosavi-Far had connections with organizations engaged in financially assisting these extremist and terrorist organizations, which had links to Hezbollah representatives in Lebanon.

Mosavi-Far used his children’s education to justify his stay in Germany, despite a court order demanding he leave the country. While he tried to stay until the last moment, he was ultimately forced to leave and return to Iran.

The Islamic Center in Hamburg, where Iranian theologians and politicians have spent years, insists that they are a purely religious organization that deals with the religious affairs of Shia Muslims in Germany.