Germany confronts Turkish influence in mosques amid antisemitism and spying allegations

The German government has asked the country’s main mosque association, the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), to sever its ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over “antisemitic and Islamist” statements.

A spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the Interior told the German press, “We expect DITIB to clearly distance itself from organizations and individuals who spread antisemitic messages or support Islamist agendas.”

The controversy surrounding DITIB was reignited by the “An Islamic and Humanitarian Responsibility: Gaza” conference held in Istanbul on August 22. The event was organized in cooperation with the World Union of Muslim Scholars and the Foundation of Islamic Scholars in Türkiye and was attended by 150 Islamic scholars from 50 countries.

The meeting was organized by the International Union of Muslim Scholars and Diyanet, Türkiye’s directorate of religious affairs. The head of Diyanet, Ali Erbaş, called on Palestinians to use “all legitimate methods of resistance against the Zionist occupation, including armed resistance.”

Erbaş also said, “It is necessary to mobilize the ummah in all forms of jihad in the way of Allah.”

The International Union of Muslim Scholars is known to have links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Hamas official Marwan Abu Ras also attended the meeting.

DITIB is both administratively and financially dependent on Diyanet. The organization has approximately 1,000 mosques in Germany and is frequently a subject of controversy in the country due to agendas linked to Erdoğan and the Turkish government.

Following news of the meeting, a spokesperson for the German Federal Ministry of the Interior told the newspaper WELT, “The events once again show how problematic DITIB’s structural and personnel connection to the Turkish religious authority is.”

The spokesperson listed the basic preconditions for cooperation with DITIB as a clear commitment to the “value system” of the German Constitution, international understanding, Israel’s right to exist, and an “equally clear commitment against Islamism and antisemitism.”

The German government supported the training of DITIB’s imams for many years, but starting in 2023, it prohibited DITIB from sending imams to Diyanet for training.

More recently, as part of an initiative by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Turkish imams are being trained in Germany at the German government’s expense (465,000 euros since March 1, 2024).

The ministry states, “Unlike the temporary Diyanet imams who return to Türkiye after four years and whose center of life is Türkiye and Diyanet, the imams hired by DITIB will serve permanently in DITIB congregations in Germany and will have no connection to Turkish state institutions from a legal standpoint. Therefore, integration measures can have a more lasting effect compared to Diyanet imams.”

Although the goal of ending the secondment of imams remains unchanged, the Federal Ministry of the Interior warned DITIB, stating, “Whether measures taken for this purpose, such as the training initiative, will continue will also largely depend on DITIB’s behavior and how successful the process is.”

According to WELT, an official from a company owned by DITIB recently wrote on Facebook about the war in Gaza, “The problem is the Zionist education that produces new Netanyahus and Smotrichs. They are eager to fulfill the divine promise. That is why de-Zionization must take place (in Germany too!!).”

In response to a query from WELT, DITIB stated, “The person mentioned does not represent the DITIB Federal Association, and their statements do not reflect DITIB’s position or attitude.”

DITIB claimed its position is “the initiation of diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire and a two-state solution, as demanded by many European countries.”

DITIB has been a focal point of tension between Germany and Türkiye in the past. For example, the German public broadcaster ZDF alleged that at least nineteen DITIB imams had spied on targets in Germany on behalf of Türkiye.

In 2020, the Federal Ministry of the Interior said that DITIB “not only actively contributes to shaping public opinion in the interests of the Turkish government but also provides numerous potential informants and whistleblowers to the National Intelligence Organization (MIT).”