German authorities on Thursday ordered the country’s five largest telecommunications companies to block access to an Islamist website, in an intensified effort to combat extremism online. Smaller providers are expected to follow suit, according to the Commission for the Protection of Minors in the Media (KJM).
The website, kalifat.com (“caliphate.com” in German), is operated by Hizb ut-Tahrir, an organization banned in Germany since 2003. Despite the ban, the German-language site has remained accessible.
Hizb ut-Tahrir, meaning “Party of Liberation” in Arabic, is an international pan-Islamist political group that seeks to establish a caliphate governed by Sharia law.
As of Thursday noon, kalifat.com was still accessible within Germany.
The latest publication on the site, posted Wednesday, criticizes Russia’s recognition of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime, describing it as part of a broader effort to integrate the group into the secular international system of nation-states.
The KJM defended the blocking order, stating that the site “disseminates Islamist propaganda to a considerable extent, calls for the overthrow of governments in Muslim-majority countries, and advocates the establishment of a global caliphate,” posing a direct threat to peace and social cohesion.
Marc Jan Eumann, head of the KJM, emphasized, “Anyone who stirs up hatred against people of other faiths is against all of us and will be stopped using all the legal means at our disposal.”
Six months ago, the KJM also blocked the Arabic- and English-language websites of Lebanese TV station Al-Manar, which is viewed as a propaganda outlet for the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.
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