Salafists create ‘shari’ah controlled zone’ in Germany

Rasa - Salafists have started to patrol the downtown streets and harass the citizens of the city of Wuppertal in Germany’s state of North Rhine-Westphalia. They urged people to refrain from various sorts of activities and entertainment that they considered immoral.

News ID: 1092

Date: 07 September 2014 - 20:26

Rasa News Agency reports from Germany - Salafists have started to patrol the downtown streets and harass the citizens of the city of Wuppertal in Germany’s state of North Rhine-Westphalia. They urged people to refrain from various sorts of activities and entertainment that they considered immoral.

The young men are followers of Salafism, also known as Wahhabism or Takfirism, an extremist, intolerant and false form of Islam. Due to Saudi petrodollars, it one of the world's fastest-growing Islamic movements. It is this violent sect that is responsible for the ongoing crimes in Iraq and Syria. Officials in North Rhine-Westphalia say that approximately 1,800 people are part of the Salafist scene in the area, with ten percent of the members considered to be violent extremists.

According to reports from Wuppertal, several men between 19 and 33 years of age gathered in the city centre, and patrolled the streets wearing vest on which the words "Shari’ah Police" was written. The fundamentalists were seen in the city’s nightlife area, trying to urge people to refrain from alcohol, drugs, gambling, pornography and other activities. They also reportedly distributed leaflets with the same guidelines. They entered lingerie shops where they harassed customers and asked them to reconsider their purchases. They also tried to prevent several young men and women from entering a nightclub.

In reaction, Germany has called for tough measures against the self-appointed Salafist police. None of the young men were arrested, but all of them will be prosecuted. They will have to answer in brief before the court.

Although the shari’ah guidance to refrain from drinking alcohol or taking drugs might not be of any harm in itself, German authorities fear that the Salafists have also been recruiting young men to join the Islamic State and other militant groups, encouraging them to travel to Syria or Iraq in order to do so.

Last year in London, Salafists patrolled streets and tried to frighten non-Muslims.

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