Thousands of Islamists took to the streets of Hamburg again on Saturday for what organizers called a “defense of Islamic values” in the face of political intimidation and media censorship.
The protest was organized by Muslim Interaktiv, a group under investigation by Hamburg’s domestic intelligence agency for “extremism.” It claimed on its social media accounts that over 6,000 Muslims had turned out to participate, although police estimates put the figure closer to 2,300.
The demonstration was in response to recent attempts by German politicians to restrict the group’s activities after a recent march in the port city sparked outrage amid calls for Germany to become a caliphate under Sharia Law, and participants chanted anti-Semitic slogans.
Muslim Interaktiv claimed it wanted to “set an example” to protect “Islamic identity,” and posted that the requirement for Muslims to “commit to Western values” was the “lie of the year.”
The demonstration was allowed to take place under strict conditions, which included a wholesale ban on anti-Semitic rhetoric, calls for a caliphate using any medium, and a ban on any incitement of hatred or violence.
Organizers called the conditions ahead of the march “repressive” and revealed it had been seeking legal advice to take action against the measures imposed on the group.
Attendees held placards claiming they were being censored by the German government.
After the controversial protest held last month, Germany’s Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser denounced the demonstration despite overseeing the country’s open borders immigration policy in recent years that has seen millions of Muslims, many of whom have originated from countries that practice fundamental Islam, arrive in Germany.
“Seeing an Islamist demonstration of this kind on our streets is difficult to bear. It’s a good thing that the Hamburg police counteracted crime with a large presence,” she told Tagesspiegel.
She told the Funke newspaper group last week the new conditions imposed on the group’s activities gave the police greater power to intervene and disperse the participants if necessary.
“Anyone who would rather live in a caliphate, and therefore in the Stone Age, is against everything that Germany stands for. We defend our constitution — with the means of our constitution,” she said.
