Tag Archives: Germany

Honor Killings and Ideas of Honor in Societies of Islamic Character

Honor killings take place today not only in the eastern part of Turkey. In Germany, too, and in the other countries of Europe, women die “for reasons of honor”. Till now, German criminal investigative departments do not compile any separate statistics, but unofficial statistics quote at least 49 honor killings or attempts at such in Germany between 1996 and 2005. The United Nations estimate that ca. 5000 honor killings (along with a high number of unreported cases) have been committed world-wide.

Gritt Klinkhammer: Modern Forms of Islamic Life

In her doctoral thesis in sociology, Gritt Klinkhammer examines the manner in which young Muslim-Turkish women of the second and third generation live out their Islamic religious affiliation in Germany. Their parents generally belong to the religiously conservative first “guest worker” generation, from whose life and religious practises the young, educated women clearly want to make a break. The parents encouraged their daughters’ Koran school lessons, for example, or observance of Islamic social rules; however, they were often able to give their “enlightened” daughters little justification and explanation for celebrations, manners and religious obligations – justification demanded by the children in the secular environment. Although these parents have now lived in Germany for up to 35 years, they do not see themselves as “Germans”, nor do their children.

Tobias Mörschel (Ed.): Does Faith make Politics?

Does faith pursue a policy? Whoever follows the last years of US-american policy or reflect upon Islam and its future role in Europe can hardly avoid this question. This book addresses the question in light of sociological models in the context of a transatlantic comparison.

(Deutsch) Pressemitteilung zur Debatte um den islamischen Religionsunterricht

(Deutsch) B O N N (02. März 2009) – Als alarmierende Signale beschreibt Albrecht Hauser vom Institut für Islamfragen die neuesten Vorfälle rund um den islamischen Religionsunterricht in Österreich. Nach einer im Januar 2009 vorgestellten Studie des Islamwissenschaftlers Mouhanad Khorchide, in der er mehr als 200 der knapp 400 Islamlehrer Österreichs befragte, lehnen 21,9 Prozent der Lehrer die Demokratie ab. 27,1 Prozent halten die UN-Menschenrechtserklärung von 1948 für unvereinbar mit dem Islam und 18,2 Prozent äußerten Verständnis dafür, dass ein Muslim, der vom Islam abgefallen ist, mit dem Tod bestraft würde.

Is Multiculturalism (Multi-Culti) at an End?

“Multi-culti” – a catchword we all know. A concept that today is looked at rather critically but, in past decades, was to a large extent a guideline for the shared life of Christians and Muslims in Europe, even if by far not everyone was aware of this premise. Multi-culti – a result of an historical development into which we have stumbled rather than consciously planned and controlled. A development that, in addition, resulted from the false intellectual premises that accompanied the contemplation of the migration of Muslim workers to Germany, as well as from indifference and ignorance.