Authorities arrested a 39-year-old imam from Crete who praised Hamas and called for a “holy war against the infidels.”
According to the Greek police press service ΕΛ.ΑΣthe Anti-Terrorism Service (Δ.Α.Ε.Ε.Β.) began to formulate a case against the foreigner because in his social media posts in October 2023, speaking about the war being waged in the Gaza Strip, he called for acts of violence.
As noted in the message ELAS, “The case was transferred to the Chania City Prosecutor’s Office, which ordered a preliminary investigation into the fact of violation of Article 187A paragraph 6 in conjunction with Article 98 of the Criminal Code.”
The Egyptian-born imam, a fanatical supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood, reportedly preached hate speech and praised terrorists, including Hamas. His name is Elseid Montaser.
According to available information, the Egyptian has been living in Greece for ten years, doing agricultural work in Chania.
MEGA TV reported that the man was known to local police but was not considered a radical Islamist. However, the counter-terrorism unit decided to put an end to his “preaching of hatred”, thereby showing that the radicals were under control and surveillance.
Al-Qassam Brigades
The Al-Qassam Brigades were created in 1991 and, according to CIA Factbook estimates for 2023, number at least 20 thousand militants. Their name comes from the name of the Syrian preacher Ezdin al-Qassam, who at the beginning of the 20th century called for armed resistance to the “new crusaders” of colonialism. He was killed in a shootout with British police in 1935.
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