June 29 A German District court in Cologne has decided to penalize religiously motivated circumcision. It would be counted as an element of assault and battery against individuals. Neither religious and cultural motivations nor medical argumentations would justify circumcision. Ali Demir, representative of the community of Islam criticized the decision, because it would discriminate believers….
June 27 In an article published by Die Zeit, the political scientist Claus Leggewie writes about Islamic architecture in Germany. The first mosques were built in Germany in the 18th century. In conformity with the idea of religious tolerance, the Prussian King Frederic William IV allowed the construction of the first minaret in Prussia….
For Jews and Muslims, the circumcision of male children is more than just a pious custom. A German court has now for the first time ruled that the religiously motivated surgical procedure is a crime. The Cologne judgement can be seen as an expression of our secular society. But sometimes it’s not a good thing…
