REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BERLIN -- German police launched dawn raids on mosques, apartments and offices in ten German states on Tuesday, and the government banned a group it accused of trying to recruit fighters for Islamic State, the interior ministry said.
A spokeswoman for the ministry described the DWR 'True Religion' organization is a mobilizing network for Islamic State, though she said there was no indication it was planning attacks itself.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere believed the group breached Germany's constitution and incited hatred, she added. He was due to make a statement on the arrests and the ban later on Tuesday.
There was no immediate statement from the group.
Meanwhile, in July 2016, authorities in northern Germany said police have raided a mosque believed to be a “hot spot” for Islamic extremists in the city of Hildesheim.
The interior ministry of Lower Saxony state said that the apartments of eight leading members of the “German-speaking Islam Circle Hildesheim” organization were also searched Wednesday, news agency dpa reported.
The state’s interior minister, Boris Pistorius, said that “after months of preparation we have taken an important step with the searches conducted today toward a ban on the group.” Authorities suspect that Muslims were radicalized in the organization and motivated to take part in jihad. Pistorius said there had been calls for “hatred toward infidels” in sermons and seminars.