An investigation reported by the German newspaper Die Welt raises questions about whether German public funds were used to support workshops involving individuals sympathetic to the Iranian regime and Ali Khamenei.
Public funding for a Shiite youth association
Until the end of 2025, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth supported a Shiite youth association called Engagierte Muslime in Deutschland through a pilot initiative known as the “Youth 2025” program.
The program aimed to help Muslim youth organizations integrate into Germany’s broader youth association funding structures. Internal ministry documents reportedly praised the organization’s “convincing overall concept” and noted its potential to engage young members of the Shiite community.
According to the documents, around €240,000 in funding was planned between 2023 and 2025.
Controversial speakers and posts
However, several speakers who appeared at EMD events have drawn scrutiny.
One workshop instructor who led a smartphone photography session in October 2023 later posted social media content mourning Khamenei’s death and describing it as an “Israeli/American terrorist attack.” The same instructor also shared an antisemitic caricature of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu depicted as a rat.
Another speaker, identified as Mehdi C., gave rhetoric workshops for EMD in Hanover and Kassel in 2024 and 2025. He is reportedly the son of a long-time figure in the Al‑Irshad community, whose mosque has been considered by security authorities to have links to Hezbollah.
The mosque was searched by police in 2020, and the German government previously stated there were sufficient indications that the association behind it might be connected to Hezbollah structures in Germany.
Authorities have also previously linked Mehdi C. to the Islamic Centre Hamburg, which German authorities banned in 2024 after describing it as a major propaganda hub for the Iranian regime in Europe.
Cooperation with other youth groups
The EMD organization also reportedly collaborated during the funding period with several Shiite youth groups, including Generation Ahlulbayt and another group called Hidaya 313.
One preacher associated with events attended by the latter group, Sayyed Haydar al-Musawie, has posted videos praising Iran’s military power and criticizing Western freedoms in the context of the Israel-Hamas war.
Organization and ministry responses
EMD denied any connection to extremism when contacted by the newspaper. The organization stated that its mission focuses on democratic education, tolerance, and civic responsibility for young people.
It emphasized that speakers are invited based on professional qualifications and that the organization rejects antisemitism, extremism, and propaganda of any kind.
The German family ministry said it had no information linking EMD to extremist activities during the funding period. According to the ministry, event planning and speaker selection were the responsibility of the organization itself.
The Youth 2025 pilot program ended at the end of 2025, and the ministry declined to extend it further.
