Fanaticism or Radicalism - Organizer of Islamist protest under surveillance; counter-protest being prepared.
Last weekend's Islamist rally in Hamburg is still causing a stir. An anti-Islamist demonstration has been organized for Saturday, with backing from politicians. The rally will take place on Steindamm in the St. Georg district, the same spot where over a thousand Islamists protested a week before.
In response, Hamburg's Second Mayor, Katharina Fegebank, expressed her strong stance on the matter. When asked whether a student teacher from Hamburg would continue to work in the city, she stated, "People who promote extremism will never be accepted into Hamburg's civil service. This person is known, and therefore will not teach in Hamburg."
Sources from the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution claim that the individual is associated with the group Muslim Interaktiv, which is categorized as a secure extremist organization.
The President of the University of Hamburg, Hauke Heekeren, confirmed that the individual is enrolled at the institution. However, he made it clear that the university has no connection to any personal actions or social media statements made by its students.
This weekend, a group has come together in Hamburg to demonstrate against radical Islamism. The police have received a registration for a gathering with around 200 attendees, leading with the cry, "Against Islamism and anti-Semitism, for liberal-democratic values." Among the supporters are the Kurdish Community Germany and the Secular Islam Association.
Several politicians have showed their support for the event. Kazim Abaci from the SPD commented, "Islamists have violated our fundamental values in Hamburg's city center." Abaci was also a co-organizer of a large anti-extremist demonstration earlier this year, when 180,000 Hamburg residents participated. He continued, "We must all defend our freedom against not only right-wing extremists but also Islamists."
The CDU parliamentary group has also lent their approval to the demonstration. The group's leader, Dennis Thering, will deliver a speech at the start of the meeting.
The Hamburg Parliament's Committee on Internal Affairs is scheduled to discuss the demonstration as well as the Muslim Interaktiv group during their next gathering on June 6th. The SPD parliamentary group had previously declined a call for a special session by the CDU.
Sören Schumacher, the SPD spokesperson for internal affairs, commented on the previous Saturday's demonstration, "The police carefully investigated whether the rally could be banned. Legally, this was not possible. Now the public prosecutor's office is assessing the criminal relevance of the slogans and banners displayed at the event."
Thering of the CDU criticized the SPD and the Greens for refusing to bring the matter before the Committee on Internal Affairs for a special session, saying, "This was not a peaceful demonstration, but an Islamist exercise of power. It's a disgrace that the SPD and Greens won't even discuss it in a special session of the Committee on Internal Affairs."
FDP MP Anna von Treuenfels-Frowein also criticized the red-green government factions for blocking "an urgently needed meeting of the Committee on Internal Affairs," calling the action unacceptable and further damaging trust in the government's ability to act.
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Source: www.stern.de
