Security officials raided the Islamic Centre earlier this year, seizing documents and data, leading to the Centre’s closure in July and the confiscation of Hamburg’s Blue Mosque.

In addition to the Hamburg-based Centre, subsidiaries in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin were also banned, with four Shi’ite mosques to be closed, said the ministry.

Iran’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the German ambassador in Tehran in protest of the ban.

“Unfortunately, what happened in Germany is an example of Islamophobia and is in opposition to the teachings of the Abrahamic faiths,” the Iranian ministry said on X, formerly Twitter, referencing Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. The ministry said the ban violated freedom of expression and promoted violence and extremism.

Der Spiegel reviewed a 220-page ban order issued by the Interior Ministry, which was said to reveal how closely the Centre was working with the Islamic regime and the ties it had with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group.

Direct communication from Iran

The documents reportedly revealed that the Centre’s head, Mohammad Mofatteh, communicated closely and regularly with the office of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The communication between Mofatteh and the regime extended to WhatsApp messaging, where Mofatteh would reportedly text with the Revolutionary Bureau’s Deputy Head of International Affairs, Mehdi Mostafavi. The pair exchanged over 650 messages from late 2021 until late 2023.

Mostafavi reportedly instructed Mofatteh on “focus areas for 2024” and “Khamenei’s messages for German-speaking pilgrims in 2023.”

Mofatteh reportedly also received anti-Israel propaganda.

The Iranian officials also allegedly sent messages on how to sell Hamas’s October 7 terror attacks on southern Israel, which involved sexual violence and the murder of over 1200 people. Mofatteh was advised to say how the “Islamic Resistance” had “no other means” to stop Israel’s “crimes.”

In addition to direct communications with the regime, Khamenei’s personal seal and stamp were found on certificates for donations allegedly sent to Yemen.

Connections with Hezbollah

Investigators also reportedly found connections between the Centre and Hezbollah, allegedly finding documents showing a sheikh connected to the terror group had traveled through Germany thanks to the “financial, moral and advisory support” of the Centre’s former director.

Der Spiegel reported that the sheikh’s personal phone number was also saved in the director’s phone.

Mofatteh had asserted in previous statements that there was no reason for the mosque’s closure and that “the Islam we preach here is the Islam of reason, the Islam of peace, friendship and peaceful coexistence between people.”

The site said his lawyer refused to respond to Der Spiegel’s questions.