Just like the population at large, the German Bundeswehr has undergone a remarkable trajectory of religious pluralisation in recent years. As of 2012, over 48,000 Catholics and over 63,000 Protestants served in the armed forces. This would mean that just over half of Germany’s 180,000 soldiers identified as Christian; a figure that maps quite closely onto…
In Germany, the number of attacks on minorities – routinely referred to as ‘hate crimes’ in English – remains enduringly high. At the same time, public debates also zone in on violence between minorities – as ceaseless discussions of a real or supposed ‘Muslim anti-Semitism’ underscore. Against this backdrop, Berlin-based Yehuda Teichtal and Raed Saleh…
The German domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz – which roughly translates as Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution – has published a new report titled “Anti-Semitism in Islamism”. In it, the Office professes to shed light on Muslim and Islamist anti-Semitism – a phenomenon it deems to “gain in importance particularly…
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…
As immigration has taken centre stage in political debates across Europe in recent years, stories of brave deeds and outstanding achievements by immigrants have become a staple of reporting. Defenders of migrants’ rights in particular have crafted and amplified narratives of ‘exceptional’ individuals in order to combat rising anti-immigrant sentiment. Brave men, superheroes, and honorary…
