Germany criminalises all support for ISIL

Berlin has taken steps to clamp down on the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant by banning all participation and support for the group on German soil. The measures prohibit all fund raising and campaigning, including any online support or public use of their symbols. The Netherlands is the only other European nation to have introduced similar legislation. Germany's Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere outlined why such steps were necessary: "The terrorist organisation Islamic State is a threat, also for Germany's public safety. We must prevent radicalised Islamists from carrying jihad to our cities." Alarms bells were recently raised when a group of hard line Salafist Muslims were seen patrolling the streets of Wuppertal in Westen Germany, calling themselves Sharia police. Berlin has also expressed fears over German citizens returning from war zones in Syria and Iraq radicalised.