German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann called Islamic support for the caliphate as a form of government absurd, but did not necessarily consider it a judicial issue in Germany.
His comments came ahead of an Islamist rally in Hamburg on Saturday, called by Muslim Interaktiv, and in the wake of the controversy that followed a similar rally last month.
“Expressing purely sympathy for a caliphate is something I consider politically absurd,” Buschmann told DPA.
But, he said, Germany’s Constitutional Court concluded that as long as people simply express an absurd opinion – even if it is contrary to the country’s Basic Law – this should be tolerated as part of the intellectual battle of opinions, as long as no efforts are made to overthrow the legal order or violate legal interests.
A caliphate is a religious state under a spiritual leader, a caliph, who claims succession from the Muslim prophet Muhammad. There have been several examples in history, but the most recent was created by the Islamic State in large parts of Syria and Iraq.
Buschmann said it would be different if a terrorist group or extremist organization adopted a slogan like “The Caliphate is the Solution.”
“We would then ban such an organization or take action against it if the relevant legal requirements are met,” he said. “But that is not – or still is not – the case today.”
At the Hamburg rally last month, some people carried signs saying “The Caliphate is the Solution” and others gave speeches touting a caliphate as the answer to social problems in Islamic states.
The protest sparked national outrage in Germany and denunciations from political leaders.
After the demonstration, some campaigned for the law to be changed so that anyone who publicly called for the establishment of a caliphate in Germany could be punished.
Authorities allowed Saturday’s demonstration to take place, but imposed a ban on inciting hatred or violence. Israel’s right to exist cannot be denied and Israeli flags cannot be burned or damaged, police said on Friday.
The police expect around 1,000 participants in the demonstration whose motto is “Against censorship and the dictatorship of opinion”.
Germany is a staunch supporter of Israel and has struggled with how to handle demonstrations against the war in Gaza and support for the people of Palestine.
Israel has been fighting the Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas in Gaza since Hamas militants and other extremist groups launched a bloody attack on Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 and kidnapping around 240.
Israel responded to the massacre with massive airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip that killed more than 35,000 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities in Gaza.
Leaders around the world have become increasingly critical of Israel’s devastating attacks on Gaza, where famine threatens, according to humanitarian organizations and the United Nations.
Buschmann said he had a different view of the “From the River to the Sea” slogan that some have proclaimed at pro-Palestine rallies.
The slogan is understood to mean that there should be a free Palestine in an area stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea – which includes the area where Israel is located.
This was a slogan of Hamas, which is banned from operating in Germany, Buschmann said. Depending on the individual case, the use of the slogan may therefore constitute the use of propaganda by a prohibited organization – which is punishable by law.
