German police raid Islamists as ban eyed for fundamental groups

Berlin - Police raided premises of a radical Islamic sect in three German states on Tuesday as authorities studied whether to outlaw the fundamentalist Sunni Muslim movement as anti-democratic.
The Interior Ministry said the inquiry had nothing to do with recent warnings of terrorist attacks on Europe or a Saturday suicide bombing in Stockholm, but was part of a longer-term investigation of a group described by German authorities as Salafist.
The term describes Muslims who believe in the Islam of the first generations after Mohammed and often violently reject modern society.
The premises raided by police belong to two organizations, the Invitation to Paradise EZP, with premises in the cities of Braunschweig and Moenchengladbach, and the Islamic Cultural Centre of Bremen.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said recently he might use his powers to ban Salafism in Germany. Citizen groups have campaigned against Salafists setting up prayer halls, alleging that they are radicalizing young Muslims.
A spokesman for the minister said, 'The simultaneous searches today in three states will tell us if the initial suspicions can be confirmed.'
EZP is already officially under surveillance in North Rhine- Westphalia state by anti-subversion police. The group has rejected the charge, arguing in television and newspaper interviews that it merely wants to purify Islam.
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