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Schily
reportedly sponsored the law provision on facilitating the
expulsion of foreigners
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By
Khaled Schmitt, IOL Correspondent
BERLIN, January 23 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - German officials
are drawing up lists of hundreds of “Islamists” to be deported
from the country under a new immigration law, according to a leading
German magazine.
The
authorities have dubbed the blacklisting operation “Aktion
Kehraus” (“Action Sweep Out”), said Der Spiegel in its
new issue, to hit news stands on Monday, January 24.
The
new immigration law, which went into effect with the beginning of the
year, specifically includes a provision to expel foreigners posing a
threat to national security, a policy forcefully argued by both
Interior Minister Otto Schily and the conservative Christian
Democratic opposition party during debates in parliament.
Schily
“welcomes all efforts by the regional states to apply the new
regulations,” an interior ministry spokesman said.
No
Appeal
Under
the new legislation, a special panel of the Federal Administrative Court
will take charge of handling potential deportation cases, estimated to
number 2,000 a year.
Once
a verdict is made, the deportees will not be able to legally challenge
the expulsion order, Der Spiegel said.
The
deportation can be sought by authorities in the 16 regional states or
by federal authorities in the capital Berlin
if Germany's domestic intelligence agency provides evidence causing strong
suspicion of terrorist links, the weekly added.
The
new immigration law will also make it easier to expel leaders of
banned organizations, terrorist sympathizers and persons deemed to be
preaching hate.
Citizenship
Withdrawn
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Security
forces during a crackdown on a German mosque
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Der
Spiegel’s article followed press reports that many foreigners in
the country had their German citizenship withdrawn in the wake of the
9/11 attacks.
Seven
citizenships were withdrawn in Hessen state by the Interior Ministry,
which accused their holders of being linked to “anti-constitution”
groups.
In
Saarland, the citizenship of two foreigners were annulled over security
considerations.
Furthermore,
citizenship withdrawals have regularly occurred in the Rhein and
Baden-Wuerttemberg states.
Immigration
and citizenship departments in the 16 states have asked domestic
intelligence services to draw up detailed reports on every foreigner
applying for the German citizenship.
MPs
of the Christian Democratic and Christian Socialist parties have also
pressed for withdrawing the citizenship of any foreigner posing a
threat to national security.
They
urged the government to follow the Dutch lead in planning to annul the
citizenship of “Islamists” allegedly associated with
organizations preaching violence.
A
spokesman for the Christian Democratic party has further warned that
terrorists may pursue their activities on the German mainland under
the guise of citizenship.
A
study conducted by the University
of Bielefeld’s Institute for Interdisciplinary Research on Conflict and Violence
had shown that Islamophobia was on
the rise in Germany.
Anti-Muslim
voices spoke louder than ever in 2004 as dealing with the Muslim
community became the overriding concern of German officials and the
right-wing parties.
Interior
Minister in the state of Bavaria Guenter Beekstein was in the vanguard
of officials attacking Muslims, accusing the sizable Turkish community
of living in “parallel societies” with their own cultural and
social activities.
Germany’s mass-circulation Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported
in August that Germans reverting to Islam have risen dramatically in
the past few years and were keen on leaving their indelible
marks on their society.
