Former head of Hamburg Islamic Centre ordered to leave Germany

Five weeks after the ban on the Hamburg Islamic Centre (IZH), which was classified as extremist, its former head must now leave Germany.

The Hamburg Interior Authority issued a deportation order to 57-year-old Mohammad Hadi Mofatteh this week, a spokeswoman in Hamburg said on Thursday. She initially provided no information on whether the man is still in the country.

The letter instructs him to leave Germany within 14 days. Otherwise, he faces deportation to his country of origin, at his own expense.

According to the authority, this must happen by September 11, 2024. Additionally, he is banned from re-entering Germany or staying in the country. Should he do so, he faces up to three years in prison.

Mofatteh had been the head of IZH since the summer of 2018. According to findings from the Hamburg domestic intelligence agency, officially known as the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution, he was considered the official representative of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Germany until recently.

For Hamburg's Interior Senator Andy Grote, the deportation following the ban on the IZH is the next consistent step the authority is taking, as he stated upon enquiry.

"As the highest religious representative of the inhumane regime in Tehran, his time in Germany is over. We will continue to fight Islamic extremism with full force and utilize all means of residency law to do so," Grote said.