by Stefano Piazza
On Saturday, the Islamist group Muslim Interaktiv organized a new mobilization in the German city of Hamburg to call for the establishment of a caliphate.
More than 2,000 people participated Saturday, Oct. 12, in Hamburg in a mobilization in favor of the establishment of a caliphate and the imposition of Sharia law. The protesters responded to the call of the Islamist organization Muslim Interaktiv, which in a post on Instagram, called “ to fight against the colonial order and establish an Islamic caliphate that would once again allow Jews, Christians, and Muslims to live together in peace.”
The mobilization caused a stir beyond Germany’s borders: the British activist for Tommy Robinson, among others, denounced the holding of the event and called for the expulsion of its participants. Already last spring, “Muslim Interaktiv” organized demonstrations in Hamburg, during which the slogan “Allah u akbar ” was chanted and banners were displayed calling for the creation of a caliphate. Many German politicians, including in the ranks of the federal government, condemned these calls and supported a ban on demonstrations for this organization but nonetheless this is the third time that “Musulman Interaktiv” has demonstrated on the streets of Hamburg. This small group is considered part of the entourage of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), banned in Germany since 2003 and unlike the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, Hizb ut-Tahrir has openly called for the creation of a global caliphate. This organization specifically targets young Muslims living in Germany, suggesting that they should choose between being German or Muslim, thus whether to abide by the Quran or the German Constitution.
As the crisis in the Middle East escalates , the group has mobilized followers, including some women, as in the first demonstration held in Hamburg, in which they displayed signs with inscriptions such as “State reason kills” and accused German politicians of being responsible for the deaths of civilians in Gaza through their support for Israel. “Muslim Interactive” distinguishes itself from other groups by its professional presence on social media, for example through high-quality video clips. These short videos are very popular on platforms such as TikTok, which are widely used by young people. Some of them have had more than 100,000 hits. In one particularly popular video, spokesman Joe Adade Boateng declares “traitor,” the UAE ambassador because he met with the Israeli president.
“Muslim Interactive” is also particularly reactionary when it comes to women. Boateng commented on the fact that Saudi Arabia officially allowed a woman to take part in a beauty pageant this year with the words, “ Saudi Arabia is desecrating Islam ”and in their videos the woman’s bare shoulders are shown only pixelated. Joe Adade Boateng has a German mother and a Ghanaian father studies tudia at the University of Hamburg – to become a teacher. An Islamist as a German teacher? Federal Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (55, FDP) and Hamburg Senator Katharina Fegebank (47, Greens) put a stop to his project: “This person is known, the name is known and therefore he will not be a teacher in Hamburg.” All fair but until “Musulman Interaktiv” is outlawed the problem will remain so. Another issue that is certainly not minor is the role of platforms like Tik Tok that allow Islamist groups to spread their poisoned propaganda against the West.