Numerous organizations and individuals appeal to Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher and Hamburg's Second Mayor Katharina Fegebank to end the cooperation with the Islamic Center of Hamburg (IZH): 

 

The Islamic Center of Hamburg (IZH) must not be a contractual partner of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg in the state treaty with the Muslim associations
 

October 10, 2022

Dear First Mayor Tschentscher, 
Dear Second Mayor Fegebank,  

In Iran, a young woman was beaten to death because her hair was not completely covered by a headscarf. The brutal death of Zhina Mahsa Amini is breaking the camel's back in Iran. These days we are seeing people in Iran revolt against the Mullah dictatorship. And we are also witnessing, despite all attempts at censorship, the brutal and bloody reaction of the state and its morality police.

We welcome the fact that politicians in Hamburg are expressing their support for the Iranian people and their disgust with the Mullah regime. However, this will remain lip service if at the same time it is not finally said openly and officially that the "Islamic Center Hamburg" (IZH) can no longer be a contractual partner of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg. 

For, according to the findings of the Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the IZH is an "outpost of Tehran bound by instructions", with the help of which the mission of the worldwide export of the "Islamic revolution" and the demand for the destruction of Israel, which is anchored in the Iranian constitution, is to be implemented. This is also in line with the findings of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the courts.

The protests in Iran shed light on the brutal, misogynistic, homophobic and anti-Semitic dictatorship that IZH represents. If this inhuman ideology of the Iranian regime is now finally coming into the light of day, this must also have consequences for domestic policy. The city of Hamburg must not continue to cooperate with an outpost of the Mullah regime! 

Of course, all people of the Hamburg city community are entitled to the same rights with regard to their religious practice, including the Muslims living in Hamburg and their mosque communities. However, the basic mistake of the state treaty with the Islamic associations is that it was also concluded with associations that are not pure religious communities and are politically controlled from undemocratic and totalitarian states. 

On the one hand, this concerns DITIB, whose imams are usually employed by the Turkish authority Diyanet and receive their salaries from there. On the other hand, it concerns the Shura, whose most influential member is the IZH. The deputy head of the IZH, Seyed Soliman Mousavifar, was expelled from Germany in June of this year by the SPD Senator of the Interior for "close contacts with terrorist organizations." He is well connected within the IZH and is not a lone perpetrator. 

Enough! Cooperation with an extremist institution is an imposition on a democratic urban community and a threat to internal security. It should be self-evident that mosque associations that are controlled by totalitarian regimes, that represent an Islamist ideology, that reject gender equality, are homophobic and queer-hostile, want to see Israel destroyed and pact with terrorism cannot be contractual partners. The Blue Mosque on the Alster should once again become a symbol of Hamburg's cosmopolitanism and not be misused by Iran as a terror headquarters. Therefore, the IZH must not remain a partner of the city.

The same applies to the Shura as long as the IZH is a member of the Shura. A turning away from the IZH is not to be recognized with the Schura however. After the expulsion order against Mousavifar, the deputy chairwoman of the Shura, Özlem Nas, stated that the Shura wanted to initiate an "internal arbitration procedure" that should "allow time" so that "grievances could be resolved."  Distancing oneself from terrorism sounds different. We therefore demand the suspension of the state contracts, also with the Shura, as long as the IZH is a member.

 
  • Mina Ahadi, Menschenrechtsaktivistin, Zentralrat der Ex-Muslime
  • Dr. Lale Akgün, Autorin und MdB a.D., Köln 
  • Reza Alipour, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Seyran Ates, Ibn Rushd Goethe Moschee Berlin
  • Ulrike Becker, Historikerin, Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin
  • Oliver Bertrand, Frankfurter Forschungszentrum Globaler Islam (FFGI), Goethe-Universität Frankfurt
  • Fabian von Borcke, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Tom Brandenburg, Giordano-Bruno Stiftung Hamburg
  • Cornelia Creischer HamburgJetztGleich.de
  • Hans Dall, Grüne Hamburg-Eimsbüttel
  • Parviz Dastmalchi, Politikwissenschaftler und Autor, Berlin
  • Ercan Degirmenci, 2. Vorsitzender der Alevitischen Gemeinde Hamburg
  • Dr. Anke Frieling MdHB, stellv. Vorsitzende der CDU-Fraktion
     
  • Ralph Ghadban, Islamwissenschaftler, Berlin
  • Mostafa Ghazizadeh, Demokratische Partei Kurdistan Iran
  • Uli Gierse, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Dennis Gladiator MdHB, Parlamentarischer Geschäftsführer u. Innenpolitischer Sprecher der CDU-Bürgerschaftsfraktion
  • Sabine Glowe, Hamburg
  • Prof. Dr. Stephan Grigat, Politikwissenschaftler, Aachen und wissenschaftlicher Direktor der STOP THE BOMB Kampagne
  • Heidemarie Grobe, Terre des Femmes Städtegruppe Hamburg
  • Albrecht Gundermann, CDU Hamburg-Altona
  • Heiko Heinisch, Historiker, Wien
  • Franziska Hoppermann, Mitglied des Bundestages (CDU), Hamburg

  • Karin Hufert, Mitglied des GEW-Arbeitskreises Philosophie und Religion

  • Sandro Kappe - Hamburger CDU-Bürgerschaftsabgeordneter für Bramfeld, Steilshoop und Farmsen-Berne
  • Monireh Kazemi, Frauenrechtlerin 
  • Dr. Necla Kelek, Verein Säkularer Islam Hamburg
  • Daniel Killy, Journalist und Autor, Hamburg
  • Kevin Köhler, Sprecher LAG Säkulare Grüne Hamburg
  • Philip Krämer, Mitglied des Bundestages (Grüne) 
  • Gerhard Kromschröder, Journalist, Hamburg
  • Dr. Matthias Küntzel, Politikwissenschaftler, Hamburg
  • Martin Lessenthin, Politologe und Vorstandssprecher der Internationalen Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte
  • Dr. Kazem Moussavi, Sprecher Green Party of Iran Deutschland
  • Frank Müller-Rosentritt, Mitglied des Bundestages (FDP)
  • Fathiyeh Naghibzadeh, Mitgründerin Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin 
     
  • Carola von Paczensky, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Jörg Penner, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Eva Quistorp, Mitgründerin der Grünen, Theologin, MdEP a.D., Berlin
  • Hourvash Pourkian, International Women in Power
  • Prof. Dr. Lars Rensmann, Politikwissenschaftler Universität Passau
  • Jörg Rensmann, Projektleiter Recherche- und Informationsstelle Antisemitismus Nordrhein-Westfalen (RIAS NRW)
     
  • Dr. Afsar Sattari, Menschenrechtsaktivistin, Menschenrechte-Einundzwanzig e. V.
  • Dr. Gudrun Schittek MdHB, Bezirk Harburg-Wahlkreis Süderelbe, GRÜNE Bürgerschaftsfraktion Hamburg 
  • Nina Scholz, Politikwissenschaftlerin, Wien
  • Rebecca Schönenbach, Frauen für Freiheit e.V.
  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Schröter, Frankfurter Forschungszentrum Globaler Islam
  • Peter Schwanewilms, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg
  • Anna Staroselski, Präsidentin der Jüdischen Studierendenorganisation
  • Frank Steiner, Mitglied Grüne Hamburg, KV Altona
  • Lala Süßkind, Geschäftsführerin Jüdisches Bildungswerk für Demokratie und gegen Antisemitismus (JBDA)
     
  • Mehmet Tanriverdi, 2. Vorsitzender Kurdische Gemeinde Deutschland
  • Linda Teuteberg, Mitglied des Bundestages (FDP) 
  • Ali Ertan Toprak, Präsident der Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Immigrantenverbände in Deutschland (BAGIV e.V.)
  • Anna von Treuenfels Frowein, MdHB, FDP Bürgerschaftsfraktion Hamburg
  • Christoph de Vries, Mitglied des Bundestages (CDU), Hamburg
  • Astrid Warburg-Manthey, Sozialwissenschaftlerin, kommunale Gleichstellungsbeauftragte, Mitfrau Terre des Femmes
  • Claus Warburg, Hamburger Assistenzgenossenschaft
  • Prof. Dr. Götz T. Wiese, CDU Bürgerschaftsfraktion, Hamburg
  • Ulla Wolfram, Arbeitskreis säkularer Sozialdemokraten
  • Carmen Zakrzewski, Hamburger Frauenring
  • Peter Zamory, MdHB, GRÜNE Bürgerschaftsfraktion Hamburg 
  • Sabine Ziercke, Mitglied HamburgJetztGleich.de
 

Organisationen

  • American Jewish Committee Berlin
  • Botschafter für Menschenrechte e.V.
  • BPW Hamburg - Business and Professional Women - Germany Club Hamburg e.V.
  • Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Immigrantenverbände in Deutschland (BAGIV)
  • Demokratische Partei Kurdistan Iran (PDKI)
  • Deutsch-Israelische Gesellschaft Hamburg
  • European Women’s Management Development Network Chapter Nord
  • Green Party of Iran Deutschland 
  • Hamburger Frauenring e.V.
  • HamburgJetzGleich.de
  • International Women in Power, Hamburg
  • Kulturbrücke Hamburg e.V.
  • Kurdische Gemeinde Deutschland 
  • Junges Forum der Deutsch-Israelischen Gesellschaft e.V.
  • Kampagne STOP THE BOMB
  • Menschenrechte einundzwanzig e.V. 
  • Mideast Freedom Forum Berlin e.V.
  • pro:fem e.V. Verbund Hamburger Frauen- und Mädcheneinrichtungen
  • Terre des Femmes Städtegruppe Hamburg
  • Tikvah Institut gUG
  • Verein Säkularer Islam Hamburg
  • Welt-Kurdische Organisation e.V. (WKO)
  • WerteInitiative - jüdisch-deutsche Positionen e.V.