Berlin’s Police Chief Barbara Slowik Meisel rarely allows herself to be tempted to criticize other institutions or powers, such as the judiciary and parliament. She often says that it is not her place to judge the actions of other authorities. But after the Berlin-Brandenburg Higher Administrative Court (OVG) lifted the police ban on an Islamist demonstration by supporters of a Middle Eastern caliphate seeking the destruction of Israel on Saturday, Slowik Meisel could not resist.
“In my seven and a half years as police chief, I have never been so pained by a court decision,” said Slowik. On Monday, the police chief received support from Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU).
He expressly welcomed the fact that the “assembly authority did everything possible to prohibit this demonstration,” Wegner said. It was all the more incomprehensible that the Higher Administrative Court had overturned this decision. “A caliphate—and the ideology associated with it—is incompatible with our constitutional state and the free democratic basic order and has no place in Germany.”
Wegner wants to ban Islamist demonstrations
He now sees Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) as having a say: “As stipulated in the government policy guidelines, the concept of public order must be reinstated in the Freedom of Assembly Act.”
The Red-Red-Green coalition had dropped the term, even though the Federal Constitutional Court had based restrictions on assemblies on violations of public order. These were the unwritten social and ethical rules of coexistence – a so-called catch-all offense that allowed the police to react more flexibly. Wegner said: “The Interior Ministry should now examine what changes are necessary to effectively prevent demonstrations of this kind in the future.”
The Saturday gathering was registered by Islamist influencer Ahmad Tamim, one of the leaders of the group “Generation Islam.” The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution considers them to be affiliated with the ” Hizb ut-Tahrir” (HUT) party, which was banned in 2003 and aims to establish a caliphate based on early Islamic models. In 2024, Tamim led a public prayer on Alexanderplatz and said: “Ya Allah, destroy every unjust person, wherever they may be in this world, who stands by Israel.”
1,500 people participated in the rally on Saturday in front of the Egyptian embassy. Various Salafist, pro-Palestinian, and anti-Israel influencers with high media reach called for it. The gathering was held under the motto “Protection Campaign for Gaza.” Participants were separated by gender, with women wearing headscarves forced to stay at the sidelines. Protesters repeatedly shouted “Allahu Akbar.” Shahada flags bearing the Islamic creed were visible.
In his speech, Tamim called on Egypt’s military to intervene on behalf of the “heroes in Gaza” against Israel. He called for an “intervention of regional forces in Gaza” and an “army of Muslims” uniting the Islamic world. Egypt must seize the opportunity to “carry out Allah’s plan,” because “He has chosen you.”
Egypt’s government accused Tamin of inaction: “If you do not go out to protect your brothers, Allah will punish you.” He reminded them of “honor” and “manhood,” saying: “Aren’t you ashamed? Are there no men left?”
The word “Ummah” was mentioned repeatedly, the collective body of all Muslims to whom everyone must submit. The participants’ posters explained what this meant: a caliphate in the Middle East, not a state in the modern sense, but a rule of religion – with Sharia as the supreme law. This means: there would be no room for Israel.
Tamin did not distance himself from the riots at other pro-Palestine demonstrations. Police noted that he had repeatedly attracted attention with “anti-constitutional and violence-glorifying statements.” In his videos, he called for liberation from the “vassal rule” of the “unjust regime” of the “Zionist entity” of Israel and for fighting with gun and knife for the victory (or honor) of the faith. The “unjust” who support Israel must be destroyed and humiliated. The Islamist rejects democracy, and in his videos, he opposes participation in elections and legislative power through parliaments.
More on the topic
Lower Saxony bans mosque association raid on Salafist meeting in Braunschweig and BerlinDefamation of the state: Hamburg wants to criminalize calls for a caliphate“We don’t know what they are specifically planning.” How great is the threat posed by Islamism in Germany?
That was sufficient for the Administrative Court. Given the ideological and criminal goals of the gathering, conditions could not avert a threat to public safety. Therefore, the ban was lawful. The Higher Administrative Court took a different view. The judges there did not even consider the police’s risk assessment. The police had not demonstrated that specific conditions could be used as a more lenient means of preventing violence or prohibited slogans.
The rally, accompanied by 600 police officers, was peaceful. State security officials are now investigating the chants and speeches at the demonstration for criminal and inflammatory statements. The outcome is pending.
