Another Islamist demonstration in Germany: More than 1,000 people took to the streets in Hanover on Saturday. The official motto of the rally was “Suffering of the Palestinians. Current situation in Gaza (Rafah)”, but in reality the participants spread anti-Israel, anti-Western and Islamist slogans.
With slogans like “Stop the genocide,” Israel was accused of genocide against the Palestinians. The fact that Hamas and Iran, the protectors of radical Islamists, want to wipe out Israel and Jews was not mentioned.
The rally was registered by a private individual. However, the demonstration was called for by the Islamist group “Generation Islam”. Like “Muslim Interaktiv”, which mobilized for the caliphate demonstration in Hamburg, it is part of the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, which has been banned from operating since 2003.
According to media reports, the police in Hanover had forbidden the demonstrators from using the term “caliphate.” However, the participants nevertheless made it clear what their goal was: a unification of all Muslims and a conversion of the “infidels.”
A banner reading “A turning point in the Middle East” was displayed on one stage, while other participants held up signs reading “Down with the colonial order” and “Never again nationalism” – in keeping with the spirit of Hizb ut-Tahrir, which rejects nation states and democracy and dreams of a Muslim caliphate.
“Generation Islam” published videos of the event on Instagram. Also visible is a man wearing a Muslim head covering, who demands: “Adhere to my Sunnah and that of the rightly guided caliphs.” Another asked Muslim countries for support – the highlighted states on his world map included India (predominantly Hindu) as well as Spain, which was under Muslim rule from 711 to 1492.
Several participants waved flags with the Shahada, the Muslim creed, at the rally. In this way, too, the behavior of many was similar to the demonstration in Hamburg in April, where the establishment of a caliphate was demanded.
State security had feared beforehand that the demonstration could result in criminal acts and violations of the free democratic basic order. It was “highly likely that the gathering would be unpeaceful,” it said in the justification for the cancellation.
But the Islamists fought against the ban in court – and won. The Hanover Administrative Court lifted the ban at short notice on Saturday. Shortly before the end of the event, a police spokesman said that “so far” everything had been peaceful.
The group “Grandmas against the Right” called for a counter-demonstration. “We want to make the presence of democratic civil society visible at this location and make radical Islamist protests impossible,” they said.
