In an Islamist demonstration of power, around 1,100 protestors stormed the streets in the St. Georg district of Hamburg on Saturday (27th April) demanding the establishment of a Caliphate in Germany. According to the German authorities, the event was organised by a person named Raheem Boateng who is linked to an “established extremist group”, Muslim Interaktiv. The radical Islamist group has also shared videos of the rally on social media.
In the photos and videos that have gone viral, the Islamist mob can be seen demonstrating on the busy Steindamm Street in the city center. Several demonstrators could be seen holding placards and posters that read: “Germany = dictatorship of values”, “Kalifat ist die Lösung“ (Translate – “Caliphate is the solution”), and “Palestine has won the information war”. The mob also chanted “Allahu Akbar” throughout the event, as per German media.
As per German media reports, the speakers called for an Islamic caliphate to be established in Germany. In one of the viral videos, one speaker can be heard describing the caliphate as a “system that… provides security” but is “hated” and “demonised” in Germany which is cheered by the mob with the chants of “Allahu Akbar.”
The Islamists, part of the rally, claimed that the motto of the rally was “Don’t obey the liars”. The organisers claimed that the rally was to protest against so-called Islamophobic policies (of the German government) and alleged media disinformation campaigns against Muslims in Germany while reporting on the Israel-Hamas war.
The demonstrators held posters against German media outlets “Bild”, WELT, “Spiegel”, “Focus” and the “Tagesschau” accusing them of being deaf, dumb, and blind. A representative of “Muslim Interaktiv” previously called for a “demonstration against media incitement to Islam” on the Instagram channel.
The rally demanding Caliphate in Germany was organised by ‘Established Extremist group’, an offshoot of the banned outfit along with a ‘converted’ college student and his pop-Islamists follower: German media
As per German media reports, the organiser of the rally was identified by the Hamburger Morgenpost as Joe Adade Boateng (25) who calls himself Raheem Boateng. Boateng is a German citizen who converted to Islam in 2015 and is now a self-styled imam. As per a report in “Hamburger Abendblatt”, the 25-year-old is studying to be a teacher at Hamburg University, but on Instagram and TikTok he is a kind of Islamist influencer.
He spreads what the paper described as “Islamist propaganda” on social media, including TikTok. According to media reports, the man is also a member of Muslim Interaktiv – an organisation officially designated by the Domestic Security Service (BfV) as an “established extremist group.” It is pertinent to note that this status does not lead to an automatic ban in Germany. However, it allows security officials to take measures against members of the outlet with all available intelligence tools, including covert surveillance, confidential informants, and phone tapping.
Additionally, according to the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Muslim Interaktiv is an ideologically offshoot of the Islamist Hizb ut-Tahrir (HuT) that wants to establish a caliphate – dictatorship based on Sharia law. The group has been banned from operating since 2003, the report added.
According to German outlets, Boateng and Muslim Interaktiv specifically target and radicalises young Muslims in Germany by addressing their problems like perceived discrimination. They present the supposedly simple solution as choosing/prioritising between two issues – German or Muslim, Koran or Basic Law.
As per reports, DFB national player Antonio Rüdiger in particular courted controversy in recent weeks after he showed the Islamist salute – “Tauhid” finger aka ISIS finger, as per German outlets, on his Instagram account and shouted “Allahu Akbar” after a game. However, after his act, Muslim Interactive came out to extend solidarity with him.
Meanwhile, some participants also waved flags depicting the Islamic creed, the Shahada. They also held up their index finger, the so-called tawheed finger. In Islam, this is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God but is also used as a symbol by Islamists, German outlet WELT reported.
Repeated occurrence of Islamist rallies in Hamburg, Germany
However, this is not the first time that the Muslim Interaktiv group has called for and carried out an Islamist rally in Germany. In March 2023, the outfit gathered in Hamburg shouting “Allahu Akbar” and raising the slogan: “The future belongs to the Koran”.
Later in October 2023, shortly after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel in which 1,200 people were killed, the outfit demonstrated with Islamist flags that were modeled on the lines of Taliban and Al Qaeda flags. Back then, the rally had ended in clashes with Police in which they hurled bottles and stones at officers, injuring them.
The Islamist rallies and call for the establishment of a Caliphate in Germany have sparked concerns among German politicians.
Kazim Abaci is a migration policy spokesman for the Social Democratic faction in the Hamburg parliament. Abaci called it “unbearable” that Islamists were allowed to freely march through the streets.
Likewise, Hamburger Morgenpost reported that Herbert Reul, the interior minister of the neighbouring German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, has called for a ban on Muslim Interaktiv “for a long time.”