Dramatic increase of Hezbollah supporters in Hamburg - German intel

30 Hezbollah associations across Germany

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
German special police leaves the El-Irschad (Al-Iraschad e.V.) centre in Berlin, Germany, April 30, 2020, after Germany has banned Iran-backed Hezbollah on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation (photo credit: REUTERS/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE)
German special police leaves the El-Irschad (Al-Iraschad e.V.) centre in Berlin, Germany, April 30, 2020, after Germany has banned Iran-backed Hezbollah on its soil and designated it a terrorist organisation
(photo credit: REUTERS/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE)
The domestic intelligence agency for the city-state of Hamburg announced on Friday that there are 50 Hezbollah members in Hamburg and roughly 30 Hezbollah-affiliated associations spread across Germany.
Germany authorities banned activities connected to Hezbollah in April and declared the pro-Iranian movement a “Shi’ite terrorist organization.”
In Hamburg, the number of Hezbollah members increased from 30 in 2018 to 50 in 2019. The Jerusalem Post reviewed the new 313-page intelligence report that covers a wide range of threats to Hamburg’s democracy and constitutional system.
The intelligence officials said “The reason for the clear increase [of Hezbollah operatives] in comparison to last year is the intensive operations of the domestic intelligence service, especially of the internet.”
The report noted that in the city “there are roughly 50 Hezbollah supporters who consort… at the Islamic Center in Hamburg, as well at the Imam Ali Mosque.”
Both the Islamic Center and the Imam Ali Mosque are owned by Iran’s regime and serve as the long arm of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ali Khamenei.
The Hezbollah supporters participate in religious services on Friday and other religious events at the center and mosque, according to the Hamburg report.
It is unclear if the German government will take action against the Hezbollah members and the 30 associations in Germany. In April, the police searched only four mosques and associations deemed part of Hezbollah’s organization.
There are an estimated 1,050 Hezbollah members in Germany, according to German intelligence. The Hezbollah operatives raise funds, recruit new members, promote the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign against Israel, and spread jihadist ideology.
The Post reported in late May that the Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU) in Hamburg plans to introduce an initiative to outlaw the Iranian regime-controlled Islamic Center because of its link to Hezbollah.
The spokesman for the CDU in the Hamburg parliament, Dennis Gladiator, told Die Welt that “all official contact with the Islamic Center of Hamburg should immediately end, an association ban should be examined and introduced as well as the cancellation of the state contract with the Schura [the association of Islamic communities] as long as the islamic center is part of the association.”
The governing coalition of the Social Democratic party and Green party in Hamburg opposes a cancellation of the contract and a ban of the center.