Some 2,300 join Islamist rally in Hamburg after caliphate controversy
Some 2,300 people joined a demonstration called by the Islamist group Muslim Interaktiv in the northern German port city of Hamburg on Saturday, according to police estimates, after the rally only got the go-ahead from authorities under strict conditions.
The demonstrators gathered in the city's Sankt Georg district near the central railway station on Saturday afternoon amid a heavy police presence. Most of the participants were men, according to a dpa reporter at the scene.
The protest comes after more than 1,000 people attended a rally in Hamburg called by Muslim Interaktiv last month which passed off peacefully but participants had made calls for a caliphate.
The protest sparked nationwide outrage in Germany and denunciations from leading politicians. Muslim Interaktiv is classified as an extremist group by the German authorities.
As a result, authorities only let Saturday's rally, held under the motto "Against censorship and the dictatorship of opinion," go ahead under strict conditions, including a ban on inciting hatred or violence.
At the beginning of the protest, the conditions were read out aloud in German and Arabic.
In addition, Israel's right to exist may not be denied and Israeli flags may not be burnt or damaged, police said on Friday.
It is also forbidden to call for a caliphate in Germany in word, image or writing. At the previous demonstration on April 27, the words "Caliphate is the solution" could be read on signs. Speeches also called for a caliphate as a solution to social problems in Islamic states.
A caliphate is a religious state under a spiritual leader, a caliph, who claims succession from the Muslim prophet Mohammed. There have been several historic examples in the Islamic world, but the most recent and controversial one was created by the terrorist organization Islamic State in large parts of Syria and Iraq. It was widely condemned, including by Muslim scholars.
Contrary to the organizer's wishes, Saturday's event was only allowed to take place as a stationary rally, with no march planned, according to the police. The assembly authorities reported a counter-demonstration with 100 participants.
