Protesters call for Islamic state in Germany: ‘Caliphate is the solution’
Thousands of protesters marched through Hamburg over the weekend calling for an Islamic state in Germany and clutching signs that declared, “Caliphate is the solution.”
Videos of the Saturday rally showed demonstrators chanting “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great,” and carrying copies of the local tabloid newspaper, Bild, with stories about Islam that had been smeared with red paint.
The demonstration was organized by the controversial group Muslim Interaktiv, which is currently being investigated by Hamburg’s domestic intelligence for “extremism,” according to The Telegraph.
The group’s leader, Joe Adade Boateng, declared Germany needed a “righteous caliphate” to rectify the misrepresentation Muslim groups have faced in the media.
Hamburg police told German newspaper Die Welt that there were at least 1,100 participants.
Muslim Interaktiv wrote on social media that the demonstration was intended to take a stand against the “demoniz[nation of] all Islamic life in Germany.”
“We will raise our voices together, inshallah,” a translated post on X read. “Together against Islamophobic reporting, both in recent weeks and in recent months.”
The group has been growing in popularity across social media, particularly on TikTok where it has amassed more than 24,000 followers.
Muslim groups have been outspoken in their criticism of Germany’s support for Tel Aviv ever since war broke out between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, with many calling for more radical action in response.
Muslim Interaktiv had previously organized a demonstration of 3,500 people against the public burning of the Koran in Sweden in February of last year. They also held an anti-Israel demonstration after the Oct. 7 attack.
Andy Grote, the Hamburg interior senator from the Social Democratic Party, singled out the group earlier this month as he called for “hard and decisive action” to be taken against Islamic extremists.
Other German politicians have also called out the group for its extremism, with some wondering how they have not been banned for their connections with Hizb ut-Tahrir, a pan-Islamist, fundamentalist political organization that looks to reestablish a caliphate.
