Berlin truck attacker's mosque banned amid major police raid

A Berlin mosque attended by the young Tunisian who attacked a Christmas market in December has shut its doors and been banned, as police on Tuesday launched a major raid against the capital's Islamist scene.

Berlin authorities have banned the Fussilet mosque, which Anis Amri used to attend. Meanwhile around 460 officers searched 24 locations across the capital city in the early hours of Tuesday morning in a raid linked to the mosque.

Amri had visited the mosque regularly before he drove a truck into a Christmas market on December 19th, killing 12 people, in an attack later claimed by terror group Isis.

Police believe the mosque was a meeting point for radical Islamists who were willing to commit violence. It is also suspected that people inside the mosque collected money for terror attacks in Syria. Participants of Islam classes - mostly Turks and Caucasians - were reportedly radicalized and encouraged to fight with Isis in Syria.

No arrests have been reported thus far.

A motion to ban the mosque had been submitted on February 15th, and the prayer rooms were closed down by the mosque itself a week ago. The mosque has also cancelled its rental contract for the space, according to Berlin interior minister Andreas Geisel.

Investigators on Tuesday searched through apartments, two company offices, and six holding cells in city jails. Geisel said there would be further information about the raids and ban later at a mid-day press conference.

Police had had the mosque under surveillance from a station across from the entrance, including with the use of cameras.

A ban on the mosque has been discussed since 2015. After the December attack, officials moved quickly to implement the ban.

During the Cold War, would the West have allowed the KGB to quite openly enter the country and set up offices from which to convert/terrorise civilians?

During WW2, would the Allies have allowed nazis to quite openly enter the country and hand out Mein Kampf, while terrorising civilians?

No, of course not! So why the HELL is this nonsense from islamic extremists being allowed?

And no, islam is NOT a 'race', it is a belief system. One of the world's most wanted islamic terrorists is a blonde British woman with whiter skin than me.

I asked my extremely reliable source re this mosque and he said that it was used by a moderate Turkish group until two years ago, when it was taken over by a more radical organisation. He added that the big problem was, is and will continue to be the imams, many of whom are IS-affiliated and often come from one particular country, not in the Middle East. They are hell-bent on radicalising the young and often impressionable men/boys. Until this is rooted out this will continue. LL

Yes - these vicious lunatics bear NO resemblance to muslims we've known in past years, like your renters, or people attached to universities, or that poor shopkeeper that was murdered for being the wrong kind of muslim.

His killer has a fan club in Pakistan:

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/15125778.Pakistani_extremists_rally_outside_home_of_murderer_of_Glasgow_shopkeeper/

Some 400 supporters on Monday gathered outside his family's home in the city of Mirpur, in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, for a rally in his honour, the BBC revealed. The crowd, the broadcaster said, chanted slogans praising Ahmed as "brave" and "courageous".

One man attending said: "Because of what he did, the whole of Pakistan knows who he is." Another, using the term Ghazi or warrior, said: "You should close your eyes, raise your hand towards the sky and pray, making Ghazi Tanveer your representative." he said.

Ahmed, 32, had raised his profile by making a series of audio messages to extremists in Pakistan by telephone from his Scottish jail. He has now been banned from using the phone. He is not even allowed to call his wife.