Dulled appetite

adminonNovember 26, 2021January 5, 2022Leave a Comment

Debate over Cologne circumcision ruling overshadows events marking Islamic fasting month of Ramadan. Breaking his fast at the large mosque construction site in Cologne, the chairman of the Islamic association DITIB, Ali Dere, puts on a serious face. The good coexistence of Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany is currently clouded, he says.

Pita bread, feta cheese and olives. After a long wait, during the day, 200 guests arrived for the Muslim breaking of the fast. Representatives from society and politics can enjoy a special ambience on Tuesday evening – food is served at the large construction site of the new Cologne mosque, soon to be the largest Islamic house of worship in Germany. The 36-meter-high dome and the two 55-meter-high minarets are already impressive.

Between drooping cables and sheathed concrete pillars
Inside, cables hang from the ceiling. A ladder still stands at the far end of the room, the conference hall of the future complex. There the breaking of the fast takes place at sunset. About half of the Islamic fasting month Ramadan is over. During this time, Muslims are forbidden to eat, drink, smoke and have sexual intercourse between the rising and setting of the sun.

The concrete columns inside the mosque are surrounded by red fabric walls. The site has "dressed up" for guests such as the North Rhine-Westphalian Secretary of State for Integration Zulfiye Kaykin (SPD) or Ulrich Poner, head of the Department for World Church and Migration in the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference.

Muslims call for protection of minorities
The chairman of the Islamic association DITIB, Ali Dere, steps to a lectern. He makes a serious face. The good coexistence of Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany is currently clouded, he says, referring to the circumcision verdict. Minorities in Germany must be protected. Cologne Regional Court had ruled circumcision of Muslim and Jewish boys a bodily harm.

Poner stressed that the Catholic Church will stand alongside Muslims on this ie. The circumcision debate shows that the religious freedom of all people in Germany must be defended, he said. Kaykin joins. Especially if the public discussion does not run positively for the Muslims, the different cultures must continue to come together for joint actions like the breaking of the fast.

Meanwhile, young helpers carry in small salad bowls. Water and juice are already on the table. For the next Ramadan in 2013 the breaking of the fast will take place in the completed mosque, Ali Dere is optimistic during the communal meal. Currently there is no exact date when the mosque will be ready.

During the breaking of the fast, oriental sounds can be heard. Students from Istanbul play on a shawm, a flute-like instrument, and on the ud, which resembles a guitar. Highlight of the "blessed evening" is the singing of the prayer leader. The faithful open their hands in prayer, some speaking along softly. Then there's rice and meat. And hunger is on the wane…

Should preimplantation diagnostics be allowed in Germany?? Yes, says the FDP, no, contradicts the coalition partner. Hubert Huppe, the representative for the disabled of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag, also considers a limited use of PGD to be dangerous.

It would ultimately require a decision on whether life was worth living or not, the CDU politician said on Friday (29.10.10).

Controversial PGD can detect genetic defects in an embryo created in a test tube before it is placed in the womb. If a genetic defect is diagnosed that would result in severe disability of the child, the embryo could be allowed to die.

The health policy spokesman in the European Parliament, Peter Liese (CDU), also said that a restricted use of PGD would not be practicable. The experience abroad shows that the limitation to illnesses, which lead either to a miscarriage or to an early death of the child after extreme suffering, is not convertible.

"Designer children" and "waste products" for research
Huppe said that the use of the method would create a "designer child", even if unintentionally. It is unavoidable that PGD not only detects diseases, but also additional things, such as the sex of the embryos. But it would then be questionable to withhold this information from parents.

Huppe illustrated this with the example of people of small stature who can use PGD to find out whether their child would be capable of survival. This would also reveal whether the child would be of small or normal stature. According to the Association of People of Small stature, many parents then decided to have a child of small stature, Huppe reported. This is how embryos are selected.

The disability commissioner also sees motives of the proponents in research purposes. Scientists could be interested in the "waste product" of human embryos to conduct research on, Huppe said.

In a landmark ruling in July, the German Federal Court of Justice declared PGD permissible. Therefore, action must be taken quickly now, said Liese. He pleaded for not waiting half a year with a decision. Otherwise facts would be created in hospitals.

The CDU/CSU and FDP had already agreed to release the decision for or against a PGD ban, which means that the MPs may decide independently of the party line. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had recently also spoken out in favor of a ban on PGD.

Assembly of the Conference of European Churches in Budapest (Archive) © Peter Kenny (epd)

Representatives of some 85 churches from across Europe to meet in Serbia starting Thursday. The Conference of European Churches brings together all the major Christian denominational families except the Catholics.

It is no coincidence that the Conference of European Churches (CEC) has chosen the bridge as its symbol. Not only do several bridges connect the banks of the Serbian Danube city of Novi Sad, where representatives of some 85 churches from all over Europe will meet starting Thursday. The motive is programmatic when the General Assembly of European Churches, one of the largest ecumenical gatherings on the continent, takes place. So far, links between churches are far from self-sustaining.

"Being ecumenical is not fashionable," says CEC general secretary Heikki Huttunen. Churches in Europe today are increasingly looking after their own interests, engaging in "navel-gazing" and raising their profile vis-à-vis others, he explains. The head of the delegation of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) to Novi Sad, Petra Bosse-Huber, also believes that it is "no longer a matter of course" to perceive church viewpoints other than one's own.

Traditional topics of contention: Homosexuality and migration

Beyond the traditional ies of disagreement between the churches, which primarily include the understanding of the church as an institution, opinions are divided on topics such as homosexuality and migration. The rifts here are not so much between Christian denominations as between the geographical regions represented in the Conference of European Churches. CEC unites all major Christian denominational families except Catholics.

Protestants, Anglicans, Orthodox and Old Catholics are represented in it. The churches also operate in terms of area between Iceland and Armenia, between Portugal and Turkey.

Again more concerned about the common Christian witness

Long before the meeting, the different approaches became clear. At a CEC consultation on the future of Europe since June 2016, Norway's Protestants referred to the universal validity of human rights in questions of migration, while the Czech Silesian Protestant Church, for example, warned against "boundless charity" toward migrants and sexual minorities. However, the positions are not hardened everywhere, most of the time the speakers in the consultation were differentiated. The Hungarian churches, for example, on the one hand legitimized the border fence against illegal migrants, but at the same time pointed to the xenophobia in the country.

Both the CEC and the EKD are campaigning to prevent rifts from deepening. CEC General Secretary Huttunen, himself Finnish Orthodox, hopes that the Assembly could help to "focus more on the common Christian witness". Communication is the most difficult and at the same time the most important thing, says EKD Bishop Bosse-Huber, "to make myself understood, to understand the other person and not to put my cliches over everything as an aid to understanding".

A week long opportunity to talk to each other

Opportunity to communicate is given for a week in Novi Sad. On the subject of Europe, Bosse-Huber exchanged views on a podium with the honorary head of the Anglican world church, Justin Welby, as well as with Metropolitan Emmanuel of France as a representative of the Orthodox Church. Discussions are also planned on hospitality, justice and witnessing.

Heather Roy from Eurodiaconia, one of the denominational CEC partner organizations, hopes that "the work on the ground" will not be neglected among the great general discussions. Workshops on specific topics such as climate change or social policy take place in Novi Sad.

In addition to the substantive work, the delegates also deal with the election of a new board of directors. According to the rotation principle, the current Anglican president, Bishop Christopher Hill, is to be followed by a Protestant. In addition, the delegates have to deal once again with the CEC interception. The 2013 Assembly in Budapest had simplified structures and also moved the headquarters from Geneva to Brussels. Now the statute must be further adapted to the laws of the country in which the CEC is now located – here are still bridges to be built to Belgian law.

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