Germany Arrests 4 and Bans Groups Linked to Salafism
By MELISSA EDDY
BERLIN - The German police announced Wednesday that they had arrested four
men associated with the ultraconservative Islamic movement known as Salafism
on suspicion of plotting to murder the leader of a far-right political party
that has repeatedly taunted Muslims with caricatures of the Prophet
Muhammad.
News of the arrests came as the federal authorities banned three
associations linked to the Salafist movement in Germany, saying the groups
were involved in recruitment, in fund-raising and in the distribution of
propaganda over the Internet. The police raided the apartments of 20 people
associated with the associations, known as DawaFFM, Islamische Audios and
an-Nussrah the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.
The Salafist movement has been growing quickly here, attracting mostly young
men, including Muslim immigrants and German converts, the authorities say.
They believe the number of adherents has risen to about 4,500 from 3,800
over the past two years, as the movement has gained attention in clashes
over the caricatures and a nationwide effort to distribute Korans.
The authorities have said videos and propaganda circulated over the Internet
by DawaFFM helped radicalize Arid Uka, a young German originally from Kosovo
who shot American airmen at the Frankfurt airport in 2011, killing two and
injuring two others. Mr. Uka was later sentenced to life imprisonment.
"Our recent past demonstrates what unchecked radicalization based on a
Salafist worldview can lead to," Hans-Peter Friedrich, Germany's interior
minister, said in a statement.
He further pointed to the suspected plot to kill Markus Beisicht, leader of
the far-right Pro-NRW party, as evidence of the dangers posed by
associations that follow the extreme form of Islam embraced by Salafists.
The police in Essen said that they had found loaded weapons and materials
that could be used for making an explosive device at the homes of two men
who were arrested late Tuesday after being stopped in a car near Mr.
Beisicht's home in Leverkusen.
Two other men were arrested in connection with the suspected plot, one in
Essen and the other in Bonn, the police said without giving further details.
Bonn was the site of clashes last year between the police and 200 Muslims
who had gathered to defend the honor of their prophet after Pro-NRW
threatened to display caricatures of Muhammad as part of an anti-Muslim
rally in front of an Islamic school in the city.
Mr. Friedrich told the German news agency D.P.A. that there was no direct
connection between the four arrests and the federal authorities' decision to
carry out the ban on Wednesday.
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