Germany cracks down on Muslim groups accused of recruiting terrorists

(The Christian Science Monitor) German police raided nearly 200 mosques, apartments, and offices connected to a Muslim group in mid-November after receiving information suggesting its members were recruiting people for the self-described Islamic State.

The sweep was part of a larger effort by Germany over the last few months to crack down on radicals as concerns of homegrown terrorism in the nation and in nearby European countries grows. Police targeted members of the group True Religion across 60 cities in the raids but did not make any arrests or locate the group’s leader, who they believe lives in Bonn. Officials announced that the group would be banned from further operations in Germany.

“We are taking decisive and comprehensive action against all efforts directed against our freedom and our fundamental values,” German interior minister Thomas de Maizière said.