In its current statement (1), the “Islamische Gemeinschaft der schiitischen Gemeinden Deutschlands” (IGS, the Islamic Community of Shia Congregations in Germany) glorifies the terrorist Qassem Soleimani. He is described in it as a martyr. He and others “bore witness in and with their lives to the peace-making deeds of which people of faith can be capable …”.
Soleimani was the commander of the Quds Force, a subdivision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Among other things, he was responsible for special operations outside Iran and for executions, and he was therefore on the European Union’s terror list. The German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, told the press on Sunday that Soleimani had “drawn a trail of blood and violence through the Near and Middle East”. There is no mention of this in the IGS statement. On the contrary: on account of his campaign against IS, Soleimani is all but transfigured into a peacemaker.
The IGS is a member of the advisory board for Islamic theology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU). It receives funding from the Bundesministerium für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend (the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth) in the field of extremism prevention.
The IGS statement comes as no surprise. We have long expressed the gravest reservations about this organisation as a cooperation partner of the state and of civil society. Now, at the latest, its involvement must be called into question.
