 one . The second argument on which those proposing the ban had counted was Scientology 's aggressive opposition to the constitution . Here , the report found that Scientology 's behaviour gave no grounds to assume that Scientology aggressively sought to attack and overthrow Germany 's free and democratic basic order . " Neither its bylaws nor any other utterances " supported the " conclusion that the organization had criminal aims " . The BfV also considered whether there were grounds to act against the Church of Scientology on the basis that they were practising medicine without a licence , but expressed doubts that a court would accept this reasoning .   Commenting on the decision to drop the ban attempt , Ehrhart Körting , Berlin 's interior minister , said , " This organization pursues goals – through its writings , its concept and its disrespect for minorities – that we cannot tolerate and that we consider in violation of the constitution . But they put very little of this into practice . The appraisal of the Government at the moment is that [ Scientology ] is a lousy organization , but it is not an organization that we have to take a hammer to . " The Church of Scientology expressed satisfaction with the decision , describing it as the " only one possible " . Monitoring of Scientology 's activities by the German intelligence services continues .   In February 2009 , the Berlin Administrative Court ruled that a poster placed by local city authorities on an advertising column next to a bus stop in front of the Berlin Scientology headquarters , warning passers @-@ by of the potential dangers Scientology activities posed to democracy and individual freedom , should be removed . The decision was upheld in July 2009 by the Upper Administrative Court of Berlin @-@ Brandenburg which ruled that the poster violated Scientologists ' basic religious rights .   = = Criticism of Germany 's stance = =   The United States media , while generally reporting negatively on Scientology in domestic news , has taken an at least partially supportive stance towards Scientology in relation to Germany . Richard Cohen for example , writing in the Washington Post , said in 1996 : " Scientology might be one weird religion , but the German reaction to it is weirder still – not to mention disturbing . " Alan Cowell , writing in the New York Times , wrote in 1997 that the German response to Scientology – motivated by officials ' fear that Scientology " was a totalitarian movement growing , like the Nazi party , from inconsequential beginnings " – was itself redolent of " the Nazi era 's authoritarianism " .   The U.S. Department of State has repeatedly claimed that Germany 's actions constitute government and societal discrimination against minority religious groups and expressed its concerns over the violation of Scientologists ' individual rights posed by sect filters . The U.S. Department of State began to include the issue of Scientology in Germany in its annual human rights reports after the 1993 agreement between the Church of Scientology and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service , through which Scientology gained the status of a tax @-@ exempt religion in the United States . That decision also marked the beginning of more intense lobbying efforts by the Church of Scientology in Washington , using paid lobbyists . The State Department 's 1996 human rights report on Germany , released in January 1997 , warned that artists and businesses with Scientology connections " may face boycotts and discrimination , sometimes with government approval . " Past targets of such actions had included Scientologist actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta , as well as jazz pianist Chick Corea .   Also in January 1997 , an open letter to then @-@ Chancellor Helmut Kohl appeared , published as a newspaper advertisement in the International Herald Tribune , drawing parallels between the " organized oppression " of Scientologists in Germany and Nazi policies espoused by Germany in the 1930s . The letter was conceived and paid for by Hollywood lawyer Bertram Fields , whose clients have included Tom Cruise and John Travolta , and was signed by 34 prominent figures in the U.S. entertainment industry , including the top executives of MGM , Warner Bros. , Paramount , Universal and Sony Pictures Entertainment as well as actors Dustin Hoffman and Goldie Hawn , director Oliver Stone , writers Mario Puzo and Gore Vidal and talk @-@ show host Larry King . It echoed similar parallels drawn by the Church of Scientology itself , which until then had received scant notice , and was followed by lobbying efforts of Scientology celebrities in Washington .   U.S. Department of State spokesman Nicholas Burns rejected the Nazi comparisons in the open letter as " outrageous " and distanced the U.S. government from Nazi comparisons made by the Church of Scientology , saying , " We have criticized the Germans on this , but we aren 't going to support the Scientologists ' terror tactics against the German government . " Chancellor Kohl , commenting on the letter , said that those who signed it " don 't know a thing about Germany and don 't want to know . " German officials argued that " the whole fuss was cranked up by the Scientologists to achieve what we won 't give them : tax @-@ exempt status as a religion . This
Ġone Ġ. ĠThe Ġsecond Ġargument Ġon Ġwhich Ġthose Ġproposing Ġthe Ġban Ġhad Ġcounted Ġwas ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġaggressive Ġopposition Ġto Ġthe Ġconstitution Ġ. ĠHere Ġ, Ġthe Ġreport Ġfound Ġthat ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġbehaviour Ġgave Ġno Ġgrounds Ġto Ġassume Ġthat ĠScientology Ġaggressively Ġsought Ġto Ġattack Ġand Ġoverthrow ĠGermany Ġ' s Ġfree Ġand Ġdemocratic Ġbasic Ġorder Ġ. Ġ" ĠNeither Ġits Ġby laws Ġnor Ġany Ġother Ġutter ances Ġ" Ġsupported Ġthe Ġ" Ġconclusion Ġthat Ġthe Ġorganization Ġhad Ġcriminal Ġaims Ġ" Ġ. ĠThe ĠB f V Ġalso Ġconsidered Ġwhether Ġthere Ġwere Ġgrounds Ġto Ġact Ġagainst Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġon Ġthe Ġbasis Ġthat Ġthey Ġwere Ġpract ising Ġmedicine Ġwithout Ġa Ġlicence Ġ, Ġbut Ġexpressed Ġdoubts Ġthat Ġa Ġcourt Ġwould Ġaccept Ġthis Ġreasoning Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠComment ing Ġon Ġthe Ġdecision Ġto Ġdrop Ġthe Ġban Ġattempt Ġ, ĠE hr hart ĠK Ã¶r ting Ġ, ĠBerlin Ġ' s Ġinterior Ġminister Ġ, Ġsaid Ġ, Ġ" ĠThis Ġorganization Ġpurs ues Ġgoals ĠâĢĵ Ġthrough Ġits Ġwritings Ġ, Ġits Ġconcept Ġand Ġits Ġdisrespect Ġfor Ġminorities ĠâĢĵ Ġthat Ġwe Ġcannot Ġtolerate Ġand Ġthat Ġwe Ġconsider Ġin Ġviolation Ġof Ġthe Ġconstitution Ġ. ĠBut Ġthey Ġput Ġvery Ġlittle Ġof Ġthis Ġinto Ġpractice Ġ. ĠThe Ġappraisal Ġof Ġthe ĠGovernment Ġat Ġthe Ġmoment Ġis Ġthat Ġ[ ĠScientology Ġ] Ġis Ġa Ġlousy Ġorganization Ġ, Ġbut Ġit Ġis Ġnot Ġan Ġorganization Ġthat Ġwe Ġhave Ġto Ġtake Ġa Ġhammer Ġto Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġexpressed Ġsatisfaction Ġwith Ġthe Ġdecision Ġ, Ġdescribing Ġit Ġas Ġthe Ġ" Ġonly Ġone Ġpossible Ġ" Ġ. ĠMonitoring Ġof ĠScientology Ġ' s Ġactivities Ġby Ġthe ĠGerman Ġintelligence Ġservices Ġcontinues Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn ĠFebruary Ġ2009 Ġ, Ġthe ĠBerlin ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġruled Ġthat Ġa Ġposter Ġplaced Ġby Ġlocal Ġcity Ġauthorities Ġon Ġan Ġadvertising Ġcolumn Ġnext Ġto Ġa Ġbus Ġstop Ġin Ġfront Ġof Ġthe ĠBerlin ĠScientology Ġheadquarters Ġ, Ġwarning Ġpassers Ġ@ - @ Ġby Ġof Ġthe Ġpotential Ġdangers ĠScientology Ġactivities Ġposed Ġto Ġdemocracy Ġand Ġindividual Ġfreedom Ġ, Ġshould Ġbe Ġremoved Ġ. ĠThe Ġdecision Ġwas Ġupheld Ġin ĠJuly Ġ2009 Ġby Ġthe ĠUpper ĠAdministrative ĠCourt Ġof ĠBerlin Ġ@ - @ ĠBrand enburg Ġwhich Ġruled Ġthat Ġthe Ġposter Ġviolated ĠScient ologists Ġ' Ġbasic Ġreligious Ġrights Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠCrit icism Ġof ĠGermany Ġ' s Ġstance Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġmedia Ġ, Ġwhile Ġgenerally Ġreporting Ġnegatively Ġon ĠScientology Ġin Ġdomestic Ġnews Ġ, Ġhas Ġtaken Ġan Ġat Ġleast Ġpartially Ġsupportive Ġstance Ġtowards ĠScientology Ġin Ġrelation Ġto ĠGermany Ġ. ĠRichard ĠCohen Ġfor Ġexample Ġ, Ġwriting Ġin Ġthe ĠWashington ĠPost Ġ, Ġsaid Ġin Ġ1996 Ġ: Ġ" ĠScientology Ġmight Ġbe Ġone Ġweird Ġreligion Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe ĠGerman Ġreaction Ġto Ġit Ġis Ġwe ir der Ġstill ĠâĢĵ Ġnot Ġto Ġmention Ġdisturbing Ġ. Ġ" ĠAlan ĠCow ell Ġ, Ġwriting Ġin Ġthe ĠNew ĠYork ĠTimes Ġ, Ġwrote Ġin Ġ1997 Ġthat Ġthe ĠGerman Ġresponse Ġto ĠScientology ĠâĢĵ Ġmotivated Ġby Ġofficials Ġ' Ġfear Ġthat ĠScientology Ġ" Ġwas Ġa Ġtotalitarian Ġmovement Ġgrowing Ġ, Ġlike Ġthe ĠNazi Ġparty Ġ, Ġfrom Ġinc onsequ ential Ġbeginnings Ġ" ĠâĢĵ Ġwas Ġitself Ġred ol ent Ġof Ġ" Ġthe ĠNazi Ġera Ġ' s Ġauthoritarian ism Ġ" Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠU . S . ĠDepartment Ġof ĠState Ġhas Ġrepeatedly Ġclaimed Ġthat ĠGermany Ġ' s Ġactions Ġconstitute Ġgovernment Ġand Ġsocietal Ġdiscrimination Ġagainst Ġminority Ġreligious Ġgroups Ġand Ġexpressed Ġits Ġconcerns Ġover Ġthe Ġviolation Ġof ĠScient ologists Ġ' Ġindividual Ġrights Ġposed Ġby Ġsect Ġfilters Ġ. ĠThe ĠU . S . ĠDepartment Ġof ĠState Ġbegan Ġto Ġinclude Ġthe Ġissue Ġof ĠScientology Ġin ĠGermany Ġin Ġits Ġannual Ġhuman Ġrights Ġreports Ġafter Ġthe Ġ1993 Ġagreement Ġbetween Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġand Ġthe ĠU . S . ĠInternal ĠRevenue ĠService Ġ, Ġthrough Ġwhich ĠScientology Ġgained Ġthe Ġstatus Ġof Ġa Ġtax Ġ@ - @ Ġexempt Ġreligion Ġin Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġ. ĠThat Ġdecision Ġalso Ġmarked Ġthe Ġbeginning Ġof Ġmore Ġintense Ġlobbying Ġefforts Ġby Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġin ĠWashington Ġ, Ġusing Ġpaid Ġlobbyists Ġ. ĠThe ĠState ĠDepartment Ġ' s Ġ1996 Ġhuman Ġrights Ġreport Ġon ĠGermany Ġ, Ġreleased Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ1997 Ġ, Ġwarned Ġthat Ġartists Ġand Ġbusinesses Ġwith ĠScientology Ġconnections Ġ" Ġmay Ġface Ġboycot ts Ġand Ġdiscrimination Ġ, Ġsometimes Ġwith Ġgovernment Ġapproval Ġ. Ġ" ĠPast Ġtargets Ġof Ġsuch Ġactions Ġhad Ġincluded ĠScient ologist Ġactors ĠTom ĠCruise Ġand ĠJohn ĠT rav olt a Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġjazz Ġpian ist ĠChick ĠCore a Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAlso Ġin ĠJanuary Ġ1997 Ġ, Ġan Ġopen Ġletter Ġto Ġthen Ġ@ - @ ĠChancellor ĠHel mut ĠKoh l Ġappeared Ġ, Ġpublished Ġas Ġa Ġnewspaper Ġadvertisement Ġin Ġthe ĠInternational ĠHerald ĠTribune Ġ, Ġdrawing Ġparallels Ġbetween Ġthe Ġ" Ġorganized Ġoppression Ġ" Ġof ĠScient ologists Ġin ĠGermany Ġand ĠNazi Ġpolicies Ġesp oused Ġby ĠGermany Ġin Ġthe Ġ1930 s Ġ. ĠThe Ġletter Ġwas Ġconceived Ġand Ġpaid Ġfor Ġby ĠHollywood Ġlawyer ĠBert ram ĠFields Ġ, Ġwhose Ġclients Ġhave Ġincluded ĠTom ĠCruise Ġand ĠJohn ĠT rav olt a Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġsigned Ġby Ġ34 Ġprominent Ġfigures Ġin Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġentertainment Ġindustry Ġ, Ġincluding Ġthe Ġtop Ġexecutives Ġof ĠMGM Ġ, ĠWarner ĠBros . Ġ, ĠParamount Ġ, ĠUniversal Ġand ĠSony ĠPictures ĠEntertainment Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġactors ĠDustin ĠHoffman Ġand ĠGold ie ĠH awn Ġ, Ġdirector ĠOliver ĠStone Ġ, Ġwriters ĠMario ĠP uz o Ġand ĠGore ĠV idal Ġand Ġtalk Ġ@ - @ Ġshow Ġhost ĠLarry ĠKing Ġ. ĠIt Ġechoed Ġsimilar Ġparallels Ġdrawn Ġby Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġitself Ġ, Ġwhich Ġuntil Ġthen Ġhad Ġreceived Ġscant Ġnotice Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġfollowed Ġby Ġlobbying Ġefforts Ġof ĠScientology Ġcelebrities Ġin ĠWashington Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠU . S . ĠDepartment Ġof ĠState Ġspokesman ĠNicholas ĠBurns Ġrejected Ġthe ĠNazi Ġcomparisons Ġin Ġthe Ġopen Ġletter Ġas Ġ" Ġoutrageous Ġ" Ġand Ġdist anced Ġthe ĠU . S . Ġgovernment Ġfrom ĠNazi Ġcomparisons Ġmade Ġby Ġthe ĠChurch Ġof ĠScientology Ġ, Ġsaying Ġ, Ġ" ĠWe Ġhave Ġcriticized Ġthe ĠGermans Ġon Ġthis Ġ, Ġbut Ġwe Ġaren Ġ' t Ġgoing Ġto Ġsupport Ġthe ĠScient ologists Ġ' Ġterror Ġtactics Ġagainst Ġthe ĠGerman Ġgovernment Ġ. Ġ" ĠChancellor ĠKoh l Ġ, Ġcommenting Ġon Ġthe Ġletter Ġ, Ġsaid Ġthat Ġthose Ġwho Ġsigned Ġit Ġ" Ġdon Ġ' t Ġknow Ġa Ġthing Ġabout ĠGermany Ġand Ġdon Ġ' t Ġwant Ġto Ġknow Ġ. Ġ" ĠGerman Ġofficials Ġargued Ġthat Ġ" Ġthe Ġwhole Ġfuss Ġwas Ġcr anked Ġup Ġby Ġthe ĠScient ologists Ġto Ġachieve Ġwhat Ġwe Ġwon Ġ' t Ġgive Ġthem Ġ: Ġtax Ġ@ - @ Ġexempt Ġstatus Ġas Ġa Ġreligion Ġ. ĠThis