Germany: Bremen authorities may not deport Islamist preacher

The Administrative Court of Bremen has overturned the expulsion of the preacher of the Islamic Cultural Centre (IKZ) on Breitenweg and thus upheld his complaint.

The court came to the conclusion that the prerequisites for the expulsion of the plaintiff, who had no criminal record, were not met, based on a predicted threat to public security and order in the Federal Republic of Germany due to his preaching. According to a press release of the Administrative Court, the plaintiff does not fulfil the requirements for deportation without a previous criminal conviction. The statements made by the plaintiff in his sermons, which were compiled by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, did not indicate support for terrorist organisations.

The interior authorities had accused the Tunisian-born preacher, who has been active in the Islamic Cultural Centre since 2006, of supporting terrorist organisations, of endangering the Federal Republic of Germany and of a high risk of repeating these acts.

The court ruled that some of the groups explicitly mentioned by the preacher did not constitute terrorist organisations. Moreover, the statements were not sufficiently concrete to constitute a threat in the sense of the Residence Act. Nor did the plaintiff incite hatred against groups of people living in the Federal Republic of Germany.

In his sermons, he affirmed his own faith and called upon his listeners
his listeners to also be steadfast in this regard. However, this did not constitute a call to hatred. His statements on the position of women and men, on raising children and on individual fundamental rights were still within the framework of freedom of opinion and belief. “There was therefore no danger to the public security and order of the Federal Republic of Germany,” the administrative court declared.

https://www.weser-kurier.de/bremen/ausweisung-eines-islamischen-predigers-aus-bremen-nicht-rechtens-doc7mk5ovsqunn1jm76rzh

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