Germany's Central Council of Muslims condemns violent demonstrations

Germany's Central Council of Muslims has urged pro-Palestinian demonstrators in Germany to exercise restraint.

"I am really very worried," said the chairman of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Aiman Mazyek, on broadcaster ARD's news programme "Tagesthemen". He said that hatred, violence and anti-Semitism were currently being experienced on the streets.

"At this point I condemn this very clearly and unequivocally," Mazyek stressed. "I also appeal in particular to Muslims to take part in demonstrations now with restraint and also to look closely at who the organisers are."

Prayers for peace, for example, are an alternative, he said. However, it is also important that people who have lost relatives in the Gaza Strip, for example, can express their grief, Mazyek said.

In recent days, there had been several incidents of rioting at pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

German police have registered more than 1,100 crimes related to the war in Gaza and attacks on Israel by Islamist militant group Hamas, according to German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.

German authorities have clamped down on pro-Palestinian protests, frequently banning rallies or demonstrations. That is especially true in Berlin, where police have repeatedly clashed with pro-Palestinian demonstrators at unauthorised gatherings.

"I do not hide the fact that there are also Muslims who are anti-Semitic, and we have to fight that," said the Central Council president. Any form of anti-Semitism or racism is a sin in Islam, Mazyek said. "We as German Muslims in particular have a special responsibility, also towards Jews and Israel."

On Friday he visited a synagogue to send "a sign of sympathy, compassion, but also solidarity".

The Central Council is one of the major Muslim umbrella organisations in Germany. After the brutal Hamas attack on Israel, critics said the associations had been too slow to speak out and had not condemned Hamas' actions clearly enough.

They were not invited to the rally against anti-Semitism and for solidarity with Israel on Sunday in Berlin – only one liberal Muslim organisation was represented there.

Mazyek condemned the Hamas massacre on ARD. "Unfortunately, the Hamas terror joins the history of ideological, extremist groups like IS and al-Qaida," he said.    (dpa)