German Interior Minister Otto Schily said Monday, July 18, the government is considering placing all mosques under scrutiny through closed-circuit TV cameras. Schily, in an interview with Der Spiegel magazine, said German Muslims should prevent those he termed as hatred-inciting imams from taking the pulpit. His remarks echoed those of Bavarian Interior Minister Guenther Beckstein who proposed on Saturday, July 16, planting spies inside mosques, censoring sermons and monitoring Muslim organizations using tiny cameras.In statements published by Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper, Beckstein said state security services should have free hand in dealing with Islamic organizations that prefer their religion to the country’s constitution. He further called for dialogue with moderate Muslims, asking the minority to publicly denounce violence in all its forms before such a dialogue.
The anti-Muslim rhetoric was fueled by the London blasts that targeted three underground stations and a double-decker bust on Thursday, July 7, killing at least 55 people. The mooted restrictions on the Muslim places of worship, however, drew diatribe from the Greens party, government officials and minority leaders. Greens leader Claudia Ruth said it is embarrassing that the Beckstein’s Christian Socialist party takes advantage of the London attacks for electoral gains. She was referring to the expected early parliamentary elections in the country, where right-wing parties are expected to play the terror card to win votes.