BERLIN, April 27, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The German Interior Ministry is sponsoring a mobile exhibition touring the country to draw the line between Islam as a faith and the practices of some Muslims.

The drive aims to distinguish between Islam as a religion that preaches peace and tolerance and parties condoning violence in the name of Islam, said the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the sponsor.

It added that the exhibition also seeks to highlight the dangers posed by what it called "Islamist extremists".

The "Die Missbrauchte Religion Islamisten in Deutschland" exhibition would visit universities, schools, parliaments, municipalities and cultural centers in the different states.

Launched on Tuesday, April 25, it targets both Muslims and non-Muslims, especially students, to highlight the true image of Islam.

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, an interior ministry affiliate, is responsible for gathering, processing and analyzing information about terrorist activities in Germany.

Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

There are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, two thirds of whom are of Turkish origin.

The exhibition features six sections, with the first about the tenets of Islam, mapping of Muslims worldwide and the Muslim minority in Germany.

Another section focuses on Muslim organizations operating in Germany.

A German intelligence report has concluded that only one percent of Germany’s Muslims are members of organizations that pose serious threats to the country’s national security.

The exhibition also addresses issues such as extremism, violence and armed groups.

It offers information about what it calls "Islamism" and Muslim groups condoning violence.

Observers maintain that part of the information presented in these sections champion the Western view of groups like Lebanon's Hezbullah and Palestine's Hamas.

While blacklisted by the West as "terrorist" groups, the two organizations are supported in their countries and across the wider Muslim nation as resistance movements.

Both groups vied in recent parliamentary elections in their respective countries, with Hamas making enough gains to form the government.

Another section of the exhibition deals with the so-called global "Mujahdeen networks" and the dangers they pose to German security.

In the wake of last year's London attacks, Germany stepped up security measures against "radical Muslims".

On July 18, German Interior Minister Otto Schily said the government was considering placing all mosques under scrutiny through closed-circuit TV cameras.