A proposal by Germany’s Turkish Community to have schools observe one Muslim holiday annually has set off a fierce debate in Germany. Most are opposed, though some say it would promote tolerance. German politicians and religious organizations broadly shot down a proposal by Germany’s Turkish Community (TGD) for schools to close one day out of…
An anthem sung by fans of the German football club FC Schalke 04 has drawn protests from Muslims because of its reference to the Prophet Muhammad. The Gelsenkirchen club, which plays in Germany’s top league, the Bundesliga, has asked an Islam expert to consider whether the song might be insulting. The third verse contains the…
A Cologne-based Muslim writer has been dropped from a list of recipients for a major German culture prize after an article he wrote on the imagery of crucifixion ruffled feathers among Christian leaders. The award was supposed to jointly go to four men from four different world religions – to a Catholic, a Lutheran, a…
An Islamic group has slammed a new law which stops German Muslims from stating their religion in their birth and marriage certificates. Aiman Mazyek, general secretary of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland, ZMD) criticized the change in the law, stressing that it was “unacceptable”. “The change is opposed…
Germany’s main Muslim bodies cut their links Friday to Germany’s only professor of Islamic religion, charging that Muhammad Kalisch had questioned the existence of the Prophet Mohammed and Muslim beliefs about the origin of the Koran. Kalisch teaches at the University of Muenster in northern Germany. The four main Muslim groups had been represented on…
