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| German court lets off 'Sharia police' patrol in Wuppertal | German court lets off 'Sharia police' patrol in Wuppertal |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A German court has ruled that Islamists who patrolled a city's streets as "Sharia police" did not break the law and will not be prosecuted. | A German court has ruled that Islamists who patrolled a city's streets as "Sharia police" did not break the law and will not be prosecuted. |
| Nine were arrested in September 2014 after patrolling streets in Wuppertal, western Germany. They wore bright orange jackets with the words "Sharia police". They told passers-by not to frequent discos, casinos or bars. | Nine were arrested in September 2014 after patrolling streets in Wuppertal, western Germany. They wore bright orange jackets with the words "Sharia police". They told passers-by not to frequent discos, casinos or bars. |
| The court said they had not violated laws on uniforms and public gatherings. | The court said they had not violated laws on uniforms and public gatherings. |
| Prosecutors have now lodged an appeal. | Prosecutors have now lodged an appeal. |
| The group of Salafists - ultra-conservative Islamists - included Sven Lau, a preacher whose passport was seized this year after he visited Syria and a photo surfaced, showing him posing on a tank, with a Kalashnikov rifle slung around his neck. | |
| He is suspected of trying to recruit Muslims to join jihadists fighting in Syria or Iraq and has spent some time in prison previously. He said he had gone to war-torn Syria in 2013 on a humanitarian mission. | He is suspected of trying to recruit Muslims to join jihadists fighting in Syria or Iraq and has spent some time in prison previously. He said he had gone to war-torn Syria in 2013 on a humanitarian mission. |
| Sharia requires strict adherence to Islam, and bans gambling, alcohol and male-female socialising in places such as discos. | Sharia requires strict adherence to Islam, and bans gambling, alcohol and male-female socialising in places such as discos. |
| The group's appearance at night in Wuppertal, in the industrial Ruhr region, triggered sharp criticism in Germany. A film of their "patrol" appeared on YouTube - but the action was condemned by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, who said it was "harmful to Muslims". | The group's appearance at night in Wuppertal, in the industrial Ruhr region, triggered sharp criticism in Germany. A film of their "patrol" appeared on YouTube - but the action was condemned by the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, who said it was "harmful to Muslims". |
| The group also carried notices proclaiming in English a "Sharia Controlled Zone". The notices spelled out prohibitions like those in force in some Gulf Arab countries, outlawing alcohol, drugs, gambling, music and concerts, pornography and prostitution. | |
| Activists in the anti-Islam Pegida movement - campaigning to stop immigration to Germany - demonstrated in Wuppertal last year. They have staged regular marches against "the Islamisation of Germany" nationwide. | Activists in the anti-Islam Pegida movement - campaigning to stop immigration to Germany - demonstrated in Wuppertal last year. They have staged regular marches against "the Islamisation of Germany" nationwide. |