Aiman Mazyek, Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, calls for the post of a Federal Commissioner to provide against Muslim hostility. Is it necessary? The opinions of experts diverge widely.
Germany needs a Federal officer against Islamophobia, says the Chairman of the Central Council of Muslims, Aiman Mazyek in the “New Osnabrücker Zeitung”. Under the impression of the massacre of Christchurch in mid-March, he calls for the creation of a Federal officer. His step he justified by a “widespread Islamophobia”, which he takes in Germany.
“Such an officer of the Federation and the länder is more necessary than ever, because there is a latent anti-Muslim sentiment in Germany,” said Mazyek. A model for other minority Commissioner of the Federal government to be such as the anti-Semitism officer.
The issue of Islamophobia is being underestimated in Germany, so Mazyek. This was shown after the attack in Christchurch to come to the it in Germany, too, several Incursions.
813 anti-Muslim attacks in the year 2018
Calls for a Federal officer: Aiman Mazyek
Overall, Mazyek acknowledges that the number of anti-Muslim attacks in Germany has gone in the past year. In the year 2018 813 Attacks against Muslims and mosques are nationally registered, – stated in the answer of the Federal Ministry of the interior on a request of the left party. In 2017, there were 950 such offences. The number of injured was, however, increased significantly – from 32 to 54.
The type of the recorded offences ranged from body injuries about insults, coercion, incitement, damage to property, trespass to the use of Nazi symbols. The Ministry of the interior anticipates that late registrations for the statistics, so the Numbers for 2018 are preliminary and may rise.
Of all-clear Mazyek don’t want to talk. His assessment was that the dark figure is too high; also, not all offences would be covered. Therefore, there is need for an officer to clear up the Public with Reports and conferences, and political education is to drive forward. “We need a Public awareness of this Problem,” calls Mazyek: “Any attack on a group of related minority is an attack on democracy.”
Solidarity: The new Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, at a memorial service in Christchurch
Ralph Ghadban: “anti-discrimination law is quite sufficient”
Quite differently, the Berlin scholar of Islam and integration, it looks researchers Ralph Ghadban, repeatedly a member of the German Islam conference. Commissioner for the protection of cultural groups could involuntarily help to fragment society in question, to contribute to rather than their cohesion, he fears. Special representative for the protection of individual groups could strengthen their sense of Identity disproportionately, so that their identification with the company is reduced as a whole, warns Ghadban.
Warns of the danger of disintegration: Ralph Ghraban
Since the year 2006 there were in Germany, the General equal treatment act, anti-discrimination law called, so Ghadban in an interview with Deutsche Welle. The rich completely. “If you want to set up certain groups in addition, a logic which comes to no end. So it could give to the phenomenon of Muslim hostility to one of German hostility. Then you discovered the next protected group, and so on. In the end it also has a countless number of groups with an enormous capacity for Integration, the wane but the reference to the Whole and in the worst case also against each other.”
Model Of Anti-Semitism-Officer?
Abdassamad El Yazidi, Secretary General of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, in the office of the anti-Semitism-officer of the Federal government as a model for other Protection. The Central Council of Muslims welcome the existence of which is expressly. “We Muslims have fought against the attacks on Jews. Anti-Semitism is not acceptable, and anti-Muslim attacks and baiting are not acceptable,” said El Yazidi. “We reject all those parts of the German society, the Jews, Muslims, Blacks, women or homosexuals threaten.”
So far, Germany has commissioned solely to anti-Semitism; since 2018 is the Jurist Felix Klein. However, this office was only established on a decision of the Bundestag from the middle of January 2018, under the impression of growing anti-Semitic crimes. Germany has been obliged, on the basis of the genocide of the Jews to their special protection.
The number of anti-Semitic crimes has increased in 2018 compared to the previous year. Acts of violence by anti-Semites increased from 37 cases in the year 2017, to 62 last year, according to the reply of the Federal government to the Minor Interpellation of the left party.
Promote tolerance: a Rabbi and an Imam in a Bicycle Demonstration in Berlin, June 2018
Unclear Boundaries
This would also apply to Muslims? Of course, says Ralph Ghadban. He warns, however, that an officer against Islamophobia could get a definition monopoly on permissible criticism of Islam. This could cause damage to the liberal political culture of Germany, damage to, his concern. A term like “Islamophobia” – at least potentially, to denigrate criticism, and to make it ultimately impossible. Ultimately, you run the risk that in this way freedom of expression is being restricted. “There are people who want to put Islamophobia is racism. In the last consequence this means that criticism of Islam could be banned. But it is the basis of our democracy, to religions, to criticize.”
Of course, the criticism must remain objective, so Ghadban. “But, in principle, criticism is threatening to be restricted to here. Criticism of Islam is in danger to fall under the concept of ‘Islamophobia’ and is therefore forbidden. That would be a dangerous development.”
This allegation will leave El Yazidi do not apply. Each Religion and each group must accept criticism. “We do of course accept criticism. Islam is based on the principle of criticism and dialogue. This is not allowed to grow, however, to verbal and physical attacks.” However, the limits of legitimate criticism, insists Ghadban, would be extremely difficult to define.