“Under the pretext of promoting Islam, under the pretext of supposedly harmless distribution of translated versions of the Koran that took place in pedestrian zones, hate messages were propagated and young people radicalized.”

What will German authorities do when they find out that those “hate messages” were actually part of this promotion of Islam? Could these “hate messages” have been statements such as “kill them wherever you find them” (Qur’an 2:191, 4:89, and 9:5), or “when you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks” (Qur’an 47:4) or the assertion that the unbelievers are “the most vile of created beings” (Qur’an 98:6)? How does the German government distinguish between “promoting Islam” in a benign way” and promoting “hate messages,” when there is so much hatred for unbelievers in the Qur’an and Sunnah?

“The organization’s controversial programme called ‘Lies!’ distributes copies of the Koran in German. But experts say the translation is a particularly strict version from the original Arabic text.”

“A strict version from the original Arabic text”? Wouldn’t that imply a translation that translated the text with strict accuracy, rather than taking liberties? And do German authorities think that Muslims in Germany don’t know Arabic, and won’t be able to read the Qur’an exhorting violence against unbelievers if they outlaw a particular translation?

Also, note The Local’s dubbing of Ibrahim Abou-Nagie as a “German preacher,” as if he were just another Dietrich Bonhoeffer or Karl Barth. In reality, Abou-Nagie almost certainly doesn’t consider himself German at all. Rather, he thinks of himself as a citizen of the global umma. If he has German citizenship, it is just as a matter of convenience, not loyalty, and certainly not cultural or civilizational allegiance.

“The German preacher who heads global Islamist network,” The Local, November 15, 2016: