May 4 Known for its reform-oriented approach, the Ahmadyyia community of Berlin has initiated a campaign to counter negative prejudices against the image of Muslim women. The community declares its distance from parallel societies; it prefers education of its Imams in Germany and promotes education for women. The Ahmadiyya community, which is said to…
Far from living in closed-off communities, Muslims in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district live in a culturally diverse area. However, a new report finds that they still suffer from high levels of discrimination, particularly within the city’s school system. Berlin’s Kreuzberg district has a reputation for vibrancy, creativity and multiculturalism. Yet in the public imagination there is…
Germans in several cities are complaining about plans to build new mosques, but Ben Knight finds it’s the integrated Muslims in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district eyeing a new house of worship there most sceptically. Sitting in his makeshift office, Birol Ucan has developed an unshakable optimism for addressing the media. At a time when many Germans…
Turkey’s plans to lift a ban on Islamic headscarves in universities has become a hot topic of conversation among young Turkish women in Berlin, home to western Europe’s biggest population with Turkish roots. Turkey’s parliament gave initial approval on Thursday to the move, fiercely opposed by a secular elite that fears religious encroachment on the…
By Nicholas Kulish BERLIN – Six men whirled faster and faster in the center of the nightclub, arms slung over one another’s shoulders, performing a traditional circle dance popular in Turkey and the Middle East. Nothing unusual given the German capital’s large Muslim population. But most of the people filling the dance floor on Saturday…
