Ansaar International who was spearheading “humanitarian” work post last year’s Delhi riots has been outlawed by Germany on suspicion of financing terrorist groups such as the Palestinian Hamas and al-Shabab in Somalia.
The Düsseldorf-based Islamist organisation, Ansaar International has been outlawed by Germany with country’s Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer alleging that the organisation “spread a Salafist world view and finance terror around the world under the guise of humanitarian aid”. For those unaware, Salafist refers to strict Sunni Muslims who seek implementation of Sharia law.
Steve Alter, spokesperson of Seehofer, while quoting the Minister took to Twitter to state, “The network finances terrorism worldwide with donations.”
He added, “If you want to fight terror, you have to dry up its sources of money.”
The Islamist organisation is accused of sending funds to terrorist groups like the Al-Nusra Front in Syria, the Palestinian Hamas and Al-Shabab in Somalia. Germany’s interior ministry also maintained that some of the group’s missionary activities also contravened German law.
DW reported that several of Ansaar International’s sub-organisations have also been banned. Änis Ben-Hatira Foundation, the Somali Committee for Information and Advice in Darmstadt, the women’s rights association ANS.Justice, and second-hand charity stores Umma Shop and Better World Appeal – have all been banned.
According to German newspaper die Zeit while the sub-organisations were independent on paper, however, were financial dependent on each other through a network.
According to the Islamist organisation’s website, “Ansaar International eV was founded in Düsseldorf in 2012 and is a Muslim relief organization that provides humanitarian support to people in war and crisis areas, regardless of their faith.”
Worryingly, according to the website, the organisation is active in around 50 “project countries” with India also featuring on the list. The website further reveals that Ansaar International has already made an expenditure of 158,600 Euros in India.
A text accompanying a photographs on the website reads, “After the bloody riots in March 2020, the Muslim minority in India lost a lot. The cause of the unrest is the new Indian naturalization law, which excludes people of Muslim faith from easier access to Indian citizenship. Houses and mosques were set on fire during the protests. Injured Muslims were turned down by hospitals and shops were burned down. There was support from some Christian pastors and churches who expressed themselves critical of Hindu nationalism and called for solidarity with Muslims. We are now providing emergency aid locally to rebuild the minority after their setback. With your donations we can distribute food and provide tents as emergency shelters.”
In its annual report, Germany’s domestic intelligence stated that the country’s number of Salafists had increased to an all-time high of 12,150 in 2019, listing them among “Islamist extremists” which is a cause of concern.
