Germany Bans Islamic State

Germany banned the Islamic State militant group, Friday. Distribution of propaganda material and the display of the Islamic State symbols are also included in the ban.

"The terrorist organisation Islamic State is a threat to public safety in Germany as well," said German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere.

He reckoned that more than 400 Germans have joined the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Maiziere said that more than100 Jihadists have come back to Germany, They also have been indoctrinated to hate and have acquired battle experience, he said, reports Reuters.

Expressing anxiety over the returned jihadists, Mazier said that nobody knows what their activities are.  The minister added that they may carry out attacks in Germany.

To illustrate his point, the minister referred to the case of Mehdi Nemmouche,  the French national and a  jihadist who was arrested in connection with the Jewish museum attack in Belgium.

Emphasising the role of parents, siblings, neighbours and friends in curbing the radicalisation of young Muslims, he said that the security forces alone cannot stop the menace.

Meanwhile, the decision to ban the Islamic state has received support from the lawmakers of the center-right Christian Democratic Union.

"The move is necessary because the biggest threat to internal security stems from returning IS fighters and because support activities, such as publicly expressing sympathy for IS and recruiting members and collecting money, are putting the internal security of our country at risk--not only that of countries and regions where IS is fighting," said Wolfgang Bosbach, head of the lower house of parliament's interior affairs committee and lawmaker with the ruling Christian Democratic Union party, reports The Wall Street Journal.

The ban comes a month after Islamic State supporters attacked a group of Yazidis in the western German town of Herford.