The head of the Islamic Center Hamburg (IZH) received direct instructions from the Iranian Supreme Leader, according to documents obtained by the German Interior Ministry. This sheds new light on the extent of Tehran’s influence on Islamic centers in Europe.
The documents, which are part of a 220-page closure and activity ban order issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, show that Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh, the head of the Islamic Center Hamburg, was in constant contact with Mehdi Mostafavi, a high-ranking official in Khamenei’s office. Der Spiegel reported on Friday.
The two exchanged more than 650 messages via WhatsApp between late 2021 and late 2023, discussing everything from ideological messages to the center’s future activities.
The instructions from Khamenei’s office included detailed instructions on how to narrate major events, such as the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people.
Just days after the brutal Hamas attack, Mofatteh was asked to portray the incident as a necessary act of resistance against Israel’s alleged crimes. The message was clear: the attack should be portrayed as a courageous act by Palestinian youth and a turning point.
“The Islamic Resistance had no other option to stop Israel’s crimes… Thanks to the courage of Palestinian youth, the Zionist regime will never be the same again,” said a message seen by Der Spiegel.
The revelations are not limited to ideological influence; they also reveal financial links between the Islamic Center Hamburg and Hezbollah, the Lebanese organization classified as terrorist by both Germany and the European Union.
The inspectors discovered documents bearing Khamenei’s personal stamp and signature indicating financial support for operations in Yemen. These documents suggest that the center not only spread Tehran’s ideology but also acted as a financial conduit for Iran’s militant proxies.
Further evidence of the center’s close ties to Hezbollah are reports of visits by a senior Hezbollah cleric in charge of external relations. This cleric, who visited the center several times, expressed his gratitude for the “financial, spiritual and advisory support” provided by the center’s leadership.
Last week, the German government Nasir Niknejad, the Iran-affiliated imam of the Islamic Center in Berlin, as revealed by Iran International’s correspondent in Berlin. Niknejad and his wife were reportedly arrested at Berlin airport as they returned from a month-long vacation, just three weeks after the closure of Islamic centers affiliated with the Islamic Republic across Germany. They were subsequently deported back to Iran.
In July, Germany closed the Islamic Center Hamburg and the Blue Mosque, controlled by Khamenei, because of their role in promoting terrorist ideology, anti-Semitism and the anti-democratic threat to the constitutional order of the Federal Republic, according to the Interior Ministry.
In November 2023 Federal police raid the Islamic Center Hamburg on suspicion of supporting the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is accused of terrorism. Germany banned Hezbollah’s activities in 2020 on the grounds that the Islamic Center’s actions were aimed at spreading the revolutionary ideology of Iran’s Supreme Leader and undermining Germany’s “constitutional order.”
