Nasir Niknejad, the Imam of the Islamic Center in Berlin, has been deported from Germany.
Niknejad and his wife were arrested at Berlin Airport and deported to Iran three weeks ago after returning from a one-month leave, just before the closure of Islamic centers affiliated with the Iranian regime across Germany.
On the morning of Wednesday, July 24, the German government issued a statement banning the activities of the Hamburg Islamic Center and several other associated Islamic centers.
These centers were accused of “promoting the ideology of the Iranian regime, supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, and acting against the German constitution.”
The fate of other imams appointed by Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Iranian regime, in Germany and whether they have also been deported is still unknown.
Following the German police’s action to close the Islamic centers associated with Tehran, Hans-Udo Muzel, the German ambassador to Iran, was summoned to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Director-General for Western Europe.
The German police raided 53 locations affiliated with the Hamburg Islamic Center across Germany for inspection and investigation.
In November 2023, following the widespread police raid on the offices affiliated with the Hamburg Islamic Center, its membership in the Central Council of Muslims in Germany was revoked.
After the closure of the center, the mayor of Hamburg said, “Today is a good day for the urban community of Hamburg.”
The Hamburg Islamic Center first attracted media attention around the 1950s and 1960s. It has been embroiled in controversy ever since its board was formed with the presence of Mohammad Javad Zarif’s grandfather.
