Germany launches major crackdown on radical Islamists after calls for Caliphate

Demonstrators take part in a march organised by Muslim Interaktiv (Image: X social media)

Germany has banned an Islamist influencer group after it called for the creation of a caliphate. The so-called Muslim Interaktiv was accused by authorities of anti-constitutional activities and of violating the country's democratic values, as well as human rights.

The group came to national prominence in April last year when it organised a demonstration in the northern port town of Hamburg. Around a thousand people turned up to the protest brandishing signs with “Caliphate is the solution” and “Muslims will not stay silent" written on them, sparking outrage across Germany. The Interior Ministry said the collective represented a threat to the country's constitutional order by promoting antisemitism and discrimination against women and sexual minorities.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (Image: Getty)

Officials also argued the Islamist group was a particular threat because it promoted Islam as the sole model for the social order and maintained that Islamic and not German law should apply to Muslim communities.

“We will respond with the full force of the law to anyone who aggressively calls for a caliphate on our streets, incites hatred against the state of Israel and Jews in an intolerable manner, and despises the rights of women and minorities,” Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.

“We will not allow organisations such as Muslim Interaktiv to undermine our free society with their hatred, despise our democracy, and attack our country from within,” he added.

Several hundred police officers conducted raids at properties in Hamburg and Berlin as part of the ongoing investigation into radical Islamic groups.

Seven buildings connected to Muslim Interaktiv were searched in Hamburg. At the same time, 12 other premises in Berlin and the central German state of Hesse were raided.

The buildings are connected to two other groups under investigation - Generation Islam and Reality Islam.

Muslim Interaktiv is known for its savy online presence used to appeal to alienated young people.

The government said the group sought to indoctrinate as many people as possible to "create permanent enemies of the constitution" to undermine belief in the political system.

Ahmad Mansour, a prominent activist against Muslim extremism in Germany, wrote on X: “It is right and necessary that Interior Minister Dobrindt has banned this group.”

He described Muslim Interaktiv as “part of an Islamist network that has become significantly more aggressive and dangerous in recent months. They carry out intimidation campaigns, specifically mobilize young people, and attempt to indoctrinate them with Islamist ideology.”