Black Lives Matter in Germany: Protests, solidarity, and resilient colour-blindness

Like other European countries, Germany has witnessed a wave of demonstrations in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, sparked by the killing of George Floyd by a US policeman. According to official (police) figures, on the first weekend of June 15,000 protesters attended a rally on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz square, and the largest demonstration in…

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COVID-19 and Religion: Between Nationalism and Communal Responsibility

Will COVID-19 lead to increased nationalist exclusionary and defensive attitudes among the religious, or might it be the cure that leads to radical social reorientation with a new emphasis on collective solidarity?   Around the world, religion has come into focus as a central point of controversy and praise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Strict social…

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Court case limiting ‘lockdown’ restrictions on religious services receives feeble echo in Germany

Internationally, a case at the Federal Constitutional Court surrounding German authorities’ ability to prohibit Friday prayers in the context of the Covid-19 outbreak has caused a bit of a stir. At issue is the question as to whether public authorities have the legal right to ban Friday prayers and other religious services during the so-called…

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Ramadan in times of Covid-19 in Germany: new social initiatives, old political fault-lines

Like Christian Easter and Jewish Passover celebrations a few weeks ago, in Germany the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is taking place this year in the shadow of Covid-19. This means that much of the regular festive programme is falling flat: mosques have been closed since mid-March, meaning that believers cannot pray or socialise at…

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Connecting with believers in testing times: German religious communities in the face of Covid-19

Germany has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases of the novel Corona virus (Covid-19) in Europe. Emergency measures designed to slow the spread of the disease mean that ordinary public life has ground to a halt. In a raft of sweeping steps announced on March 16, the German federal and regional governments prohibited…

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