Cairo - Egypt deported on Wednesday five Germans accused of religious extremism, airport sources told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

The five Germans, two men and three women, were deported to Frankfurt. Previous media reports stated that Egypt accused the family of Islamic extremism and imprisoned them. The family had torn up its German identification papers, fearing the documents would connect them to an "infidel state," local media reported.

Earlier media reports said the family did not want to return to Germany.

The German embassy in Cairo declined to give them new identification documents for fear they would also be destroyed.

Eyewitnesses close to the family said female members of the family wore garb that only allowed their eyes to be seen. None of the family is fluent in Arabic, which made communication with police authorities difficult at the time of their arrest.

The family during their arrest debated whether a true Muslim would allow himself to be photographed for a passport, local media said.

Egypt's secular government has cracked down in the past on militant Islamic movements. (dpa)