Free choice and its discontents: Germany debates Muslim women’s attire

What is the meaning of the religious attire worn by some Muslim women? Are hijab and niqab hallmarks of the retrograde nature of Islam? Do they signal radicalisation and submission to male patriarchy – or self-determination and individual empowerment? These questions have been ceaselessly debated across Europe for years. In Germany, a new round of…

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Islamic research in Germany: A new Qur’anic commentary – and old questions of politicisation

Austrian theologian Mouhanad Khorchide, professor for Islamic religious pedagogy and director of the Centre for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster in Germany, has published the first part of a wide-ranging commentary of the Qur’an – a project that is to comprise 17 volumes upon completion. A large-scale tafsir The book – titled God’s…

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Frankfurt University rocked by accusations of anti-Muslim racism

At the University of Frankfurt, a fierce debate has broken out over a proposed conference on the Islamic headscarf, signalling growing contestation over questions of identity and discrimination. Entitled “The Islamic headscarf – Symbol of dignity or of oppression?”, the conference is scheduled for May 8, 2019. Its principal organiser is Susanne Schröter, an anthropologist…

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Islamic feminism in Germany: A contested terrain

As Germany’s politicians ceaselessly question Islam’s place in the country, more and more Muslims take issue with being side-lined in these public debates: it is a discussion about them rather than a conversation with them. As a response, Muslims have striven to organise themselves and to enhance their public visibility. Sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani describes this…

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Islam, the Milanese Judges in the Abu Omar Case: “Extremists Cultivated in Viale Jenner”

January 15, 2014   The written judgment that sentenced Abu Omar to six years in prison for international terrorism explained that the sentence was greatly reduced due to unlawful seizure by the CIA and Omar’s subsequent unlawful detention. For at least two years, between 2001 and 2003, in the mosques of Milan’s Viale Jenner and Via Quaranta Omar,…

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