German police raid Islamist group

German police have raided properties linked to an ultra-conservative Islamic organisation after the interior minister banned the group.

Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich said the Salafist organisation Millatu Ibrahim, had been calling on Muslims to fight against Germany’s “constitutional order”.

He said the group’s goal was to see Germany ruled by Islamic Sharia law.

Some 1,000 police raided buildings including homes and mosques in seven of Germany’s 16 states.

Germany’s intelligence and security agencies have been increasingly monitoring the activities of the Salafists, who number some 4,000 in Germany.

Overall, officials say some 130 radical Muslims in Germany are known to authorities as being potentially violent, and 24 of those are part of the Salafist movement.