The organizers said the rally was to protest the alleged Islamophobic policies of the German government and national media.
Over 1,000 peaceful protesters gathered in Hamburg, Germany, over the weekend, with the leader of the group demanding the establishment of am Islamic caliphate in the European country.
A caliphate is a political-religious form of government under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of the caliph or “successor of the prophet of God,” who is considered a high-ranking leader in the Muslim world.
According to local German media reports and German authorities, the protest was organized by a young man who leads a populist extremist group, Muslim Interaktiv. In several videos of the protest posted online, a speaker addressing a crowd can be heard describing the caliphate as a “system that provides security” that has been “demonized” by politicians and media in Germany. The crowd responded with cheer, and some with chants of “Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest).”
A social media account connected to the group shared multiple photos and posts of the protest, which it says was aimed at standing against the “demonization of all Islamic life in Germany.”
The organizers claim the rally was to protest against alleged Islamophobic policies of the German government and alleged media disinformation campaigns against Muslims in Germany while reporting on the unfolding Israel-Hamas war.
“We will raise our voices together, inshallah (if God wills it),” a post on X said. “Together against Islamophobic reporting, both in recent weeks and in recent months.”
Muslim Interaktiv Linked to Designated Terrorist Group
Germany’s Federal Criminal Intelligence Service, or BKA, and Hamburg’s security services claim Muslim Interaktiv is part of Hizb ut-Tahrir (‘Party of Liberation’), a global Salafi Islamist movement with the goal of uniting the world under an Islamic caliphate and implementing Sharia law.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, which was founded in Jerusalem in 1953, has been banned from operating in Germany since 2003. It is also banned in many Muslim-majority countries and faces resistance from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, where it advocates for the re-establishment of a caliphate through non-military means, according to the European Council on Foreign Relations.
