Extremist Sostenido Lau, an Islamic orator, resurfaces after indoctrination period
In the early 2000s, Sven Lau, known as "Abu Adam," converted to Islam and gained attention with public appearances. This convert, who is considered a Salafist by security authorities, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison in 2017 for recruiting men for the terrorist organization Jamwa in Syria and sending cash and night vision devices to the group.
Lau, who has contact with the Islamist preacher Dehran Asanov, was released from prison after two years, completed a deradicalization program, and presented himself as reformed. However, his reformation was short-lived as he was removed from the deradicalization program in 2023.
More recently, Lau was reclassified as a threat by the North Rhine-Westphalia domestic intelligence agency. On April 13, 2023, he was observed with a five-person group in a state security relevant manner in front of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf.
One of Lau's most famous actions was the establishment of a self-proclaimed "Sharia Police." He also gained notoriety for his public statements, such as his 2019 YouTube video where he admitted, "I can't explain how blinded I was and for how long."
Lau, who calls Pierre Vogel, known as "Abu Hamza," his "best friend," has been associated with the fundamentalist Darul-Argam mosque. Along with his companions, he was observed distributing business cards advertising the mosque.
In 2024, Lau married Hanna Hansen during a pilgrimage to Mecca, followed by a religious marriage a month later. This event appears to be his latest known public activity.
Asanov, another controversial figure, was recently sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling and misusing nearly 500,000 euros in donations. Despite his past, Lau has stated, "I have never betrayed any brother in any way."
It is important to note that Salafism is a fundamentalist strand of Sunni Islam that seeks a spiritual return to the "Salaf" ("predecessors"), meaning the direct companions of the Prophet Muhammad and their successors up to the third generation after the Prophet's death.
This reclassification of Sven Lau as a threat by German intelligence serves as a reminder of the ongoing efforts to combat radicalization and extremism in the country.
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