The other day I read something again where my vanilla croissant got stuck in my throat.
It was about the attack on the Ditib mosque in Leipzig last week.
What was unusual about him was that his assumption was probably not from the right, but from the left.
It was said that left-wing autonomists had thrown stones into the window of the Ditib mosque to criticize the Erdogan regime.
Now throwing stones is the stupidest possible way of expressing legitimate criticism of Ditib.
The discussions on social media were hot.
I read that the Ditib Mosque was a safe space for refugees.
Ditib as Safe Space - crazy!
Ditib, where children slip into soldier costumes and play war theater, where Turkish spies cavort, where prayers for a victory over the Kurds and functionaries wish Israelis to die.
Where it happens that politicians who criticize the association, such as Berivan Aymaz from the Greens, have to be placed under police protection.
Ditib, which reports directly to the Turkish religious authority Diyanet, which in turn reports directly to Erdogan: All of this should no longer be a secret.
Diversity is the must-have of our time
I wonder all the more where these crazy assumptions come from that refugees a) go to pray at Ditib and b) are a homogeneous group of people and devout Sunni Muslims. When did it actually start to equate refugee with Muslim? Because that's nonsense. Similar to how it was nonsense back then to equate guest workers, even if they were from Turkey, with Turks. I think of dear Ms. Zekiye, from whom I learned to cook Maqluba: an Aramaic Christian who only learned Turkish in the factory in Germany. For religious minorities in particular, the search for protection from persecution played a not insignificant role when they went to Germany as guest workers.
Sixty years after the recruitment agreement, the reality now seems to be finally recognized: Germany is a country of immigration.
Merkel said that in 2015, and Scholz repeated it in his first government statement.
Diversity is the must-have of our time.
In business, politics and culture everyone has understood: diversity is important, diversity pays off.
Companies are hiring diversity managers, the Diversity Charter was launched, and there is discussion about how diverse the cast of Netflix series are.
Diversity sounds friendly, somehow political, but not so whistle-like and labor dispute-like, but more like scented candles on the table.
In Turkey, churches are becoming mosques
But when we are ready to recognize the reality of Germany as a country of immigration, we should also please move on to understanding the diversity within the migrant communities and dealing with it. We're back to Ditib. In the name of diversity and diversity, you can sit down at a table with Ditib, for example in Wuppertal, where the organization is currently planning to build a 6000 square meter area with a Ditib mosque, a Ditib retirement home and a Ditib kindergarten. Or in Essen, where Ditib is currently trying to become an independent youth welfare agency. Therefore, Ditib does not stand for diversity: In unity one denies the genocide of the Armenians and Arameans, in 2016 one raised the mood against the Armenian resolution,and the graves of honor of Cemal Azmi Bey, also known as the "butcher of Trabzon", and Bahattin Sakir, co-organizer of the genocide of the Armenians, can still be found in the cemetery of the Sehitlik Mosque in Neukölln. Until he was transferred to Turkey in 1943, Talat Pascha, who initiated the genocide in 1915 with the arrest of Armenian intellectuals in Istanbul, was also buried there. On the mosque's website, all three are still listed under “Important and Famous People” of the cemetery.On the mosque's website, all three are still listed under “Important and Famous People” of the cemetery.On the mosque's website, all three are still listed under “Important and Famous People” of the cemetery.
Diversity must not be selective - in Germany, in the name of diversity, baklava is eaten with Ditib functionaries, while in Turkey churches are being converted into mosques, such as the Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church.
And that in a country that is responsible for genocide against its Christian population.
Persecution of Christians in the Middle East
The persecution of Christians continues in Syria and Iraq. In 1980 around 1.4 million Christians are said to have lived in Iraq; today their number is estimated at only 200,000. Most of them are Assyrians. With them, the Aramaic language, which is thousands of years old, also disappears. We have to understand diversity globally, especially in the immigration society. People also come to Germany with a story. You may come with nationalism, with hostility towards Armenians, Assyrians, Eziden and Alevis, with anti-Semitism or with a history of persecution - and pass this on to the following generations.
While one or the other marketing department is just wondering whether it is clear to send Christmas greetings with regard to diversity, I would like to end my column here and wish everyone who is celebrating a Merry Christmas.
Eid Milad Majid!
Edo Bricho!