The appear to be on a street somewhere in Südhessen (maybe Darmstadt - note the add for the Echo newspaper) handing out free Korans in German, advertising with a sign written 100% in German. My mother tongue is English, but it I were on that street I would read that sign and pronounce Lies! as the English word "lease" and the fact that Lies! is a homograph for the English word meaning Lügen! would not enter my mind. It's all in the context. The fact that some mono-lingual and ethnocentric English speakers walk by shouldn't bother them. They have an English version of this free Koran campaign, as well as several more, targeted to speakers of other languages: http://www.hausdesqurans.de/

I took that pic with my cell-phone and yes, it is in Darmstadt.

I am bilingual (German-American) and I saw that banner from far away at first, so the only word I could decipher from far away was "LIES!". I was coming from work and do a lot of English reading at work, so my brain was still in "English mode". I had to smile when I came closer and realized what it really said.

and I don't think it can have escaped their attention. They probably just can't see what might be funny about it

But how do you know they are Salafists? (1)

Die Amis gehen jetzt endgültig aus Darmstadt weg, wie man hört, und schon stehen die Salafisten auf dem Luisenplatz! Wo soll das bloß noch hinführen ...


(1) on edit: I just discovered that it seems to be pretty well documented, I'm apparently out of the loop on this cult. But I remember that the individual who shot several US soldiers at the Frankfurt airport a few years ago in protest of the war in Afghanistan had been found to have many contacts among these Salafists.