“Jerusalem is the best place to be an Atheist”

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Since Thursday, Israel is “a Jewish nation-state”. The politicization of God and Faith is progressing, not only in the Middle East. Religion is increasingly becoming a field of Conflict.

Father Nikodemus Schnabel, takes no sheet before the mouth: “I don’t understand any of the fall of Jerusalem in Religion. Jerusalem is the best place to be an Atheist,” he says in a DW interview.

The beak is the spokesperson and former head of the German Benedictine Abbey of the Dormition on mount Zion in Jerusalem. Together with several religious representatives, he took part in Bonn, in a DW-Akademie media training to “Religion and media”.

The Priests can understand the growing criticism of the political exploitation of Religion “absolute”. Schnabel makes it clear: “Religion is a search for God, a search for identity”. You should not be for “cheap identity answers” abused.

Father Nikodemus Schnabel calls from religious leaders in the fight against radicalism in their own ranks

Beak knows what he is talking about: On Thursday, the Israeli Parliament passed the controversial nation-state law, which aims to strengthen the Jewish character of the country. This includes, among other things, the establishment of Hebrew as the official national language and the downgrading of the existing official language of Arabic to a special status. “In Jerusalem the religions are really, in all its abomination of a presence,” he says. “I like to call them the Hooligans of the religions, then, unfortunately, the image of Religion itself.”

Religion creates more problems than it solves?

A devastating insight, which is also shared by other religious leaders. For example, in the Christian orthodox Georgia: “Young people often think that Religion creates more problems than it solves,” says and Rusudan Gotziridze. “Unfortunately, this is true.” As a Baptist, the Bishop in your country belongs to a religious minority, as well as the Muslim population.

Brave: and Rusudan Gotziridze was honored with the 2014 “International Women of Courage Award”

And Rusudan Gotziridze is your Church, women’s and minority rights, and of the historical Islamophobia in the opposite occurs in the country. It is one of the growing number of religious leaders calling for more commitment to religious freedom and human rights of their peers. And acts, therefore, in the of the Georgian government einberufenem Council of religions, in the differences between communities of faith are discussed openly.

But what is the dialogue of religions if he is boycotted by the Orthodox Church, of the 84 percent of the population belong to? “The Orthodox Church does not want to join in, if you are the other faith communities on a stage,” explains Gotziridze. This would contribute to an intolerant atmosphere in the country.

“Religious leaders must do more for peace”

The more religious rules in everyday life more difficult, and the political abuse of Religion, conflict stirs up, the greater the need for this development is to add something. One of the many initiatives was the proclamation of the”International Day of Living Together in Peace”, this year, for the first time at 16. May have been committed.

Thousands of Christians and Muslims protesting in the Nigerian city of Kaduna United against religious violence

The Initiative for the on 8. December 2017 by the UN General Assembly adopted day of remembrance of the Dutch organization International Alawiyyamuhammad Soefi Vereniging”. Your Chairman Aleaddine Touhami wants to set a sign against the political exploitation of religions.

The Chairman of the National peace Council of Ghana, Emmanuel Asante, knows this tenacious work of peace from the practice. “Religious leaders must do more for peace, as this is the case until now,” he admits.

His most recent project: “Peace Clubs” in primary schools in Ghana, where children learn to live peacefully in community with each other. In spite of all the self-criticism Asante is convinced as a Methodist of the peace potential of religions deeply. Reconciliation, forgiveness, respect and dialogue – at their core, all religions aspire to peace.

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Pope Francis in Egypt

Self-criticism is better than self-pity

Nicodemus Beak. More still: in Spite of all the acts of violence committed in the name of Religion, would be a world without Religion for him, not a better perspective. “A world without Religion would be a better world – this theory, I strongly disagree with,” he says. His Argument: “Clearly, if there is no football, then there would be no football hooligans, but I’m not sure whether the world would be without football better.”

Self-criticism, it seems, is the need of the hour. “It is convenient to point the Finger at others,” says Beak. “The big house, the task of all religions is to proceed against the extremists in their own ranks.” For the Benedictine, living for more than ten years in Jerusalem, is self-criticism is better than self-pity. “There is nothing more vigorous, as if Christians always want to talk about the persecution of Christians, Jews about anti-Semitism and Muslims always about Islamophobia”.

Aleaddine Touhami directs the Dutch non-governmental organisation AISA (International Alawiyyamuhammad Soefi Vereniging)

Activist Aleaddine Touhami calls this “spiritual globalization”. The differences between the denominations are now of secondary importance to him, the joint work on peace projects. “To be honest, I don’t care whether I work with Christians, Muslims or atheists”,” explains the young Dutchman with Moroccan roots. “These religious categories I find to be obsolete.”