Germany Bans Support of the Islamic State
BERLIN — Anyone caught displaying the black flag of the Islamic State, whether in public or over the Internet, will face charges in Germany after the government announced a ban Friday on supporting the extremist group and its activities.
The move will allow the authorities to crack down on the dissemination of propaganda by the group that has been instrumental in attracting support from Germans, amid fear about the organization’s growing popularity. Some 450 Germans are believed to have left the country for Syria, raising fears about the danger that radicalized individuals could pose if they were to return.
“Germany is a true democracy, and there is no place here for a terror organization directed at the constitutional system and the belief in understanding among different peoples,’’ Thomas de Maiziere, the interior minister, said in a statement announcing the ban.
By making it illegal to support the group, instead of seeking to ban the Islamic State in Germany outright, the police will be able to react immediately, without needing to involve the often cumbersome judicial system.
“A ban of the organization may not have had the desired impact,’’ Wolfgang Bosbach, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union, told ARD public television. “This is aimed at smashing an organizational structure, to rob members of grass-roots support for their activities.’’
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