France mourns after the knife attack in the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice
France mourns after the knife attack in the Notre-Dame basilica in Nice. It was the third attack in France in two months that the authorities attribute to Muslim extremists.
Islamism is increasingly taking root in the Muslim communities of Europe – also in Germany. A development that is already an ordeal for our society. We must not be silent any longer. An appeal.
The horrific new assassination attempt in the Notre-Dame de l’Assomption basilica in Nice, in which, among other things, the throat of a pensioner was cut while visiting church while calling out “Allahu Akbar”, has not only shown once again that political Islam is deadly but that it is increasingly taking root in European Muslim communities.
This is not a new finding, because all Islamist attacks, most recently that of the teacher Samuel Paty in France, have so far been accompanied by sometimes euphoric expressions of sympathy on social media – also in German. Despite the ubiquity of Islamist terror, which has given France an oppressive leading role in Europe, in this country, after brief expressions of concern, people have so far always gone back to the agenda. Worse still, telling the truth is increasingly being responded to with accusations of racism from Islamists and parts of the political left.
Dr. Carsten Linnemann (Deputy Group Chairman in the German Bundestag and Federal Chairman of the SME and Economic Union MIT, CDU) in the ARD talk show ANNE WILL on May 24th, 2020 in Berlin. Topic of the program: Billions against the crisis is the money invested correctly?
Fortunately, we do not yet have any French conditions in Germany, but similar problems are already emerging. There are segregated Muslim communities in our cities too, and Islamic extremism is enthusiastically taken up by young people. Anti-Semitic agitation and attacks not only come from right-wing extremists, but also from Islamist circles. Hundreds of young men and women have moved to Syria and Iraq in recent years to join a barbaric terror regime.
29.08.2019, Berlin: Necla Kelek, author and board member of Terre des Femmes, stands in front of a press conference by Terre des Femmes “For a ban on children’s headscarves in public educational institutions” at the Federal Press Office.
Police crime statistics have shown for years that not everyone who comes to us does so because of our values. That men who have come to our country as allegedly “seeking protection” are disproportionately involved in serious violent and sexual offenses and are not deported. Numerous people were killed or seriously injured in terrorist attacks such as in Ansbach, Würzburg and on Breitscheidplatz in Berlin. Most recently it was the Islamist murder in Dresden by a rejected asylum seeker from Syria, in the summer an Islamist, who hunted motorcyclists in Berlin.
Religious extremism doesn’t just begin with murder; it thrives in isolated milieus that are closed to our values. A refused handshake for a woman can already be an indication. Missing girls in swimming lessons, disrespect for teachers already in elementary schools or even threats and violence against people of different faiths need other answers than round tables and the burkini as approved school clothes.
We have a responsibility to ensure that all those we entrust with important integration work in schools, society and institutions do not have to fear for life and limb. In fact, teachers are being left in the lurch with this problem, and critics of political Islam are already being given police protection in Germany. HANDOUT – The handout shows the author Birgit Kelle, taken on November 28th, 2016. (to dpa “Just no flowers: What mothers really want for Mother’s Day” on May 8th, 2017) – The silence of politics, the media, the churches and civil society organizations is regularly noticeable. After right-wing extremist attacks, demonstrations and commemorative events were rightly held, measures were demanded and the names of those killed were remembered. Why not also in the case of Islamist attacks? Does anyone spontaneously even know the name of a German victim of Islamist terror?
When George Floyd was killed by the police when he was arrested in the USA in May 2020, this triggered not only mass protests against racism in Germany, but also calls for an analogous review of the situation in Germany. Where were the demonstrations after the murder of Samuel Paty, after the first attack in Nice or the slaughter of the Catholic priest in a church in France? Those who take to the streets against racism remain silent in the face of Islamist violence because it is felt to be offensive to clearly identify the perpetrators and their motives.
Those who remain silent cannot change anything, but remain a spectator of a development that is already an ordeal for our society. Political Islam is a serious threat to our country. It is an obstacle to integration with unforeseeable consequences. Responsible and sustainable politics must act preventively, also with regard to religious extremism.
It is high time to face the problems of the immigrant society openly and not be intimidated by unfounded allegations of alleged Islamophobia, “Islamophobia” or “anti-Muslim racism”. Like any other religious community, Islam must learn to accept legitimate criticism and even humor or satire in a secular state.
Susanne Schröter is head of the Frankfurt Research Center Global Islam and organizer of the conference “The Islamic Headscarf – Symbol of Dignity or Oppression?”
We want to put things right that have gotten into trouble, name and solve problems. We want Muslims to enjoy full religious freedom, but we owe it to the many Muslim supporters of democracy and freedom rights to call political Islam by its name as extremism. As the first steps we demand:
Basic scientific research on political Islam, including a school study on the experiences and problems of teachers with Islamist influences
The establishment of a documentation center “Political Islam” based on the Austrian model, in which the structures, strategies and financing of political Islam are analyzed and disclosed The establishment of ten chairs to research the structures of political Islam in Germany
The termination of cooperation and contractual relationships between state and political institutions and representatives and organizations of political Islam
The establishment of an expert group “Political Islam” in the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which, based on the findings of science and the protection of the constitution, develops recommendations in the fight against political Islam and reports regularly to the Federal Government
October 23, 2020, Berlin: Seyran Ates, lawyer, speaks at the presentation of the Islam and Diversity Contact Point (AID) of the Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque. The aim of AID is to establish an international competence center for Islam and diversity, explicitly Islam and LGBTIQ *, on a sustainable basis. We have to act now. Precisely because we are a society that cannot do without the successful integration immigrants from different nations, cultures and religions, but we share a common set of values. It’s not negotiable. Religious freedom means that everyone can practice their faith without fear of being attacked in their place of worship for it. Justified criticism of religious extremism, the defense of freedom of belief and religion, but also the defense of human and women’s rights, freedom of expression and freedom of the press are not a democratic luxury, but the foundation of our constitution.
Prof. Dr. Winfried Bausback, Member of the Bundestag, deputy chairman of the CSU parliamentary group and former minister of state
Dr. Friedmann Eißler, theologian
Gülden Hennemann, political and Islamic scholar
Dr. Necla Kelek, sociologist and publicist
Birgit Kelle, author and chairwoman of Frau 2000plus
Prof. Dr. Mouhanad Khorchide, head of the scientific advisory board of the Documentation Center for Political Islam in Austria
Prof. Dr. Ruud Koopmans, Head of Department at the Science Center Berlin (WZB) and Professor of Sociology and Migration Research at Humboldt University
Dr. Carsten Linnemann Member of the Bundestag, Deputy Chairman of the CDU / CSU parliamentary group. Ahmad Mansour, graduate psychologist and author
Prof. Dr. Christine Schirrmacher, Islamic scholar, University of Bonn and Leuven, 2nd chairwoman of the BpB’s scientific advisory board.
Prof. Dr. Susanne Schröter, Head of the Frankfurt Research Center Global Islam
Prof. Dr. jur. Kyrill-A. Schwarz, University Professor of Würzburg
Ali Ertan Toprak, President of the Federal Working Group of Immigrant Associations in Germany Christoph de Vries Member of the Bundestag, deputy state chairman of the CDU Hamburg
Dr. Joachim Wagner, journalist and author
