Germany's interior ministers have faced frustrating setbacks fighting the far-right in court. A new tactic under consideration involves hitting organizations that support the party where it really hurts – in the wallet. [...] Some interior ministers have also voiced their support for using this tactic on other groups. "That must also be valid for left extreme or radical foreign establishments," Bouffier said. Such a foreign establishment could include the Church of Scientology, which German politicians have labelled as a money-making cult ...

Hamburg, Germany (AHN) - Hamburg's Interior Minister Udo Nagel wants a national ban in Germany on Scientology, which claims many high-profile adherents, including Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. Nagel's opposition to Scientology is premised on his view of the religion as a commercial enterprise and an anti-constitutional body with aggressive tactics. Nagel shared his thoughts with fellow state interior ministers in a gathering at Hamburg. He apparently has the state on his side. The German Office for the Protection of the Constitution ...

Could footage of Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg's execution in Tom Cruise's new film have been sabotaged by Berlin officials? Eldad Beck Published: 10.07.07, 19:44 / Israel Culture Berlin - What is causing the series of mishaps taking place on the set of a movie starring Tom Cruise in the role of Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg - the man who attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler? Over the weekend the movie's production team confirmed that footage for the movie entitled “Valkyrie," shot some ...

An alarming book, fresh demands for a ban and a rejection of those calls for a prohibition: the controversial Scientology organization has been all over the media, yet still aims to missionize Europe. Ursula Caberta expressed her opinion loud and clear: "Scientology is a dangerous, extremist organization which has declared war on Europe." As Commissioner for Scientology issues for Hamburg, Caberta is considered an expert on the subject. She has been observing the movement since 1992 and just presented her new ...

Senior politicians from Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition have rejected calls for a ban on the Scientology cult. A legal bid to outlaw it would fail because authorities haven't had time to build a proper case against the organization, they say. Politicians from Germany's two ruling parties have rejected calls for Scientology to be banned in Germany. A bid to outlaw Scientology may fail because Germany's domestic intelligence service is unlikely to have gathered enough evidence against it to back court action ...

HAMBURG, Germany, Aug. 8 (UPI) — The interior minister of Hamburg, Germany, sees Scientology as a threat to his state's security. Scientology is not a religious community but an "extremist grouping" that needs to be banned, said Udo Nagel, the interior minister of the northern German state of Hamburg. According to Nagel, Germany’s Interior Ministry in Berlin is currently probing whether a ban of Scientology would hold up in court. Observers and virtually all political parties in Germany see Scientology as ...

Last Sunday, the German Protestant Church's religious cult specialist called Tom Cruise the "Goebbels of Scientology." This comparison of the War of the Worlds actor and the head of the Nazi propaganda machine is only the most recent example of a German official having harsh words for the Church of Scientology. Last month, a German Defense Ministry spokesman said Cruise couldn't film his movie at military sites because the actor had "publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult." ...

[...] RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's played a top gun and secret agent. But it's his latest role, anti-Nazi war hero that's landed Tom Cruise in hot water. Germany is boiling over his religion. Filming began outside Berlin today, for a movie starring Cruise, as Count Klaus von Stauffenberg, a famed colonel who tried to kill Hitler. Back in 1944, Stauffenberg and his coconspirators were executed here at the defense ministry building. Cruise was planning to shoot scenes at the ...

Tom Cruise may suit up nicely as an American flying ace or an acrobatic crime buster, but when it comes to portraying Germany's most beloved anti-Nazi, Germans would prefer a different actor, bitte. Cruise is due to play German officer Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, celebrated for trying to kill Hitler in 1944, but the German Defense Ministry has warned that if Cruise gets the role, Ministry sites will be off-limits to the filmmakers. The reason? Because Cruise, as the Defense ...

Scientology has started a new propaganda offensive in Europe, opening new offices in capitals across the continent. German authorities are responding by increasing their efforts to monitor the controversial organization. At first sight, the building in Berlin's Charlottenburg neighborhood looks like a run-of-the-mill office complex: a functional, seven-story construction covered with glass windows. The young receptionist is dressed in black and wears a futuristic-looking headset. But for Scientologists, the building is a chapel, a place for studying their own doctrine and, ...

"Are you married? What religion do you follow?" The spokeswoman from the Scientology Centre was endeavouring to steer the conversation to more personal topics. "Scientology is my religion," she said, proudly. I had been invited to go on an "educational tour" around the controversial new "Church of Scientology" in Berlin. The offices are situated over six floors in a large building on Otto Suhr Allee, one of Berlin's most exclusive addresses. There are nine Scientology "churches" in Germany, but this new ...

"In my opinion," says Rick Ross, who has spent years studying cults and religious groups, "(Tom Cruise's) meltdown is likely attributable to Scientology. He's made some bad career choices lately. He's damaged goods. How do you go from the world's biggest movie star to someone Viacom dumps?" The New York Times this morning said simply that Cruise has gone "into full Scientology mode." Indeed, his recent responses to Matt Lauer, inveighing against modern psychiatric care, reflect Scientology's claim that its own ...

Scientologists are taking advantage of Germany's education problems for their own ends: They are luring weak students by providing after-school tutoring. Education authorities in Germany are on alert. The ad on a supermarket notice board in the city of Essen was aimed at all the parents in the neighborhood. Right nearby there was an "alternative school" where learning was still fun. "Sounds just right", thought one dad, who is now reluctant to give his name out of sheer fear. He took ...

Actor Tom Cruise talks about his 20-year membership in the Church of Scientology as he and Director Steven Spielberg discuss the filming of the soon-to-be-released "War of the Worlds." The film, coming out June 29, plays off Americans' fears about terrorism. Spielberg says he has always wanted to direct a "really mean invasion from outer space." Cruise insists, "I just want to help people." SPIEGEL: Mr. Spielberg, no other film director has done more image-building for aliens than you: in your ...

Human beings have come a long way in the past, oh, three million years or so. But while man has now advanced to the stage where he can split an atom and level a city, it’s hard to say he’s made much progress in understanding himself. But according to the Church of Scientology, that is all about to change. Or rather, it already has for those who have opted to come join the Scientologist flock since the Church was first formally ...

Controversial organization uses any means to get "apostate" Karlsruhe. Gerry Armstrong has not lost hope. His will to survive has not given out on him either – amazing, with several lawsuits, imminent threats from the antagonistic lawyers at his throat, Gerry is impressed, but he has a clear message, "From Germany I will and must convince the authorities in my Canadian homeland and also in the USA, that Scientology is neither a religion nor even a church, and certainly not a ...

Scientology Inc. Publishing executives in Folsom are spreading the word on technology in government. Some employees say it’s actually the words of L. Ron Hubbard that are being spread. By Jim Evans On your very first day as a new hire at e.Republic, you’re given a copy of Speaking From Experience, a management training book written by the late L. Ron Hubbard, who, during his busy lifetime, was a science fiction writer, philosopher, management guru, expert on education, and drug rehabilitation ...

France has become the first country in the world to introduce specific legislation aimed at controlling the activities of cults. The objective is to combat the 175-odd movements of a quasi-religious nature considered a danger to society. The Scientology movement and the Unification Church of the Rev Sun Myung Moon immediately denounced the bill - endorsed almost unanimously on Wednesday by national assembly deputies - as anti-democratic and in breach of human rights laws. Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders have expressed ...