By BI: German authorities announced that amidst the revelry of Carnival Monday across the country, the creators of at least two parade floats were under investigation for inciting “racial” hatred against Muslims, even though Islam is not a race.

New Observer  In the run-up to the parades, there were concerns that satirical floats that poked fun at Islamist terror could provoke attacks. Local authorities are determining whether this falls into the category of free speech or if the float makers can be prosecuted for inciting hatred against Muslim migrants.

The parades traditionally mock everyone and everything, with no subject seen as taboo, but organizers in Cologne dropped plans for a float dedicated to the Charlie Hebdo attacks in France this year over fears it could provoke violence. While past celebrations have seen floats take on politically tense themes, criticism of Berlin’s handling of the migrant crisis may have crossed the line this year.

A float with three Mullahs covering their eyes, ears, and mouth with a message that said (Islamic) “terror has nothing to do with religion,” was one of the parade’s highlights.

A carnival float depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) clinking his glass with a fighter of the Islamic State (IS) in recognition of their mutual hatred of the Kurds, stands in front of the city hall in Duesseldorf, western Germany.

A questionable float from the eastern town of Wasungen showed a train with “Balkan Express” written on it, above the slogan “the plague is coming,” surrounded by parade marchers wearing locust costumes.

Decked out in green face paint and grasshopper uniforms, they denied that their float was in any way referring to the invasion of Germany by 1.5 million Muslims coming up through the Balkan route.

In the town of Ilmtal, in the district Weimarer Land, also in the state of Thuringia, a float appeared made up as a World War II Tiger Tank bearing a black cross reminiscent of Nazi symbolism and bearing the words “Asylum Defense Force.”, complete with camouflage-wearing crew, and the slogan Ilmtaker Asylabwehr (“Ilmtal’s defense against asylum seekers”) on the side, and “Asylum Package III” on the front.

This “Asylum Package III” is a reference to the Angela Merkel government’s recently announced “new plan” on dealing with the “asylum” invasion, dubbed “asylum package II” by the controlled media.

In Solingen, a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, yet another float appeared, this time in the shape of a U-Boat. Sporting a serial number U-96 (the same one made famous by the Das Boot movie), this float carried the unequivocal message, “They should be fighting for their land, instead of groping with their hand” on the side—a direct reference to the mass sex-attacks being carried out by the nonwhite invaders since their arrival in Germany during 2015.

In contrast to the kind of anti-Islam floats (see below) from previous years that are always among crowd favorites, this year’s floats were a lot more subdued, obviously guided by the threat of Muslim violence.