Frankfurt must continue permitting twice-weekly protest prayers outside the closed Imam Ali Mosque after the Hessian Higher Administrative Court ruled that the gatherings are protected under Germany’s constitutional freedom of assembly.
The court held that the prayers—held every Thursday and Friday at noon in the Rödelheim district—amount to a “performative expression” of the message: “We want to use this mosque, but we are not allowed to.” Because the events serve a purpose of public communication, they qualify as assemblies under the Basic Law, even though they take the form of religious acts. The ruling means the city must tolerate related road closures and bus diversions through 2026.
Frankfurt authorities had sought to ban the demonstrations, arguing they were primarily religious services rather than political protests and therefore did not belong on public roads. The court rejected that position.
The protests began after the Federal Ministry of the Interior banned the Islamic Center Hamburg in July 2024, describing it as an extremist ideological outpost of the Iranian regime with links to Hezbollah. The move also led to the closure of the Imam Ali Mosque in Frankfurt, whose operator was classified as part of the same network.
Then–Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the organisation promoted an Islamist ideology opposed to “human dignity, women’s rights, an independent judiciary, and the democratic state,” and accused it of spreading “aggressive antisemitism.”
Despite the ban, former mosque members have continued gathering under the slogan “Defend religious freedom: Hands off our mosque!” The ruling confirms that the right to protest applies even to individuals associated with an organisation that has been formally prohibited.
