Salafist Koran distribution Police and the city say their hands are tied
Bonn · Bonn police and city officials say they are powerless to stop the Salafist campaign “Lies” as long as no crimes have been committed. Meanwhile, extremism is on the rise.
Burkhard Freier, head of North Rhine Westphalia (NRW) Constitution Protection, indicated that all the bigger cities in the state, including Bonn were working together with the NRW Interior Ministry to find a way to prevent some of the “Lies” (Read) Koran distribution events from taking place. City of Bonn spokesperson, Monika Hörig said that with regard to Bonn, “this could not be confirmed.”
From a legal standpoint, it is very difficult to prevent the Salafist sponsored campaign. As long as they don’t openly recruit for a terrorist group such as the Islamic State (IS) during their distribution campaign, glorify such a terrorist group or their acts, or collect donations to support a terrorist group, the city cannot withhold a permit. For every “Lies” event, they must apply for a permit, and they are granted one every time.
It would be different if fighters were being recruited or punishable crimes were being committed during the Koran distribution events, but the city and police say they are not aware of any such cases.
Islamist Ibrahim Abou Nagie, who now lives in Bonn, and Said El-Emrani who grew up in Bonn are behind the “Lies” campaign and also the group, “Die Wahre Religion” (The True Religion). This group has 177,038 “likes” on Facebook and this number is on the rise. It shows that group members are handing out free Korans nearly every Saturday in Bonn city center, in Tannenbusch or in Bad Godesberg.
Security officials are concerned about the growing extremist Salafist scene in Germany. It typically attracts young Muslims, mainly men, who reject democracy and fight against it. The number of extremists has grown in the last three years from 5,500 to 9,200.
Orig. text: Frank Vallender
