Trust
by Deniz Utlu TRANSIT Your Homeland is Our Nightmare Translated by Jon Cho-Polizzi Download PDF Back to “Work” or continue on to “Love” by Sharon Dodua Otoo. – 1 –The year I took my high school exit exams,[i] U.S. forces brought Murat Kurnaz of Bremen, Germany to Guantánamo, mistakenly believing him to be a terrorist. […]
Multicultural Germany Course: Week 6 Summary (Oct. 5 & 7)
Migration brings both culture and religion. This week in our course we focused on religion and secularism, acknowledging the complexity of the terms in context of past and current migrations related to Germany. Our discussion found its beginnings in questions such as: Does religion form part of collective memory? Which conflicts arise around differing religious […]
Multicultural Germany Class: Week 6, Religion
This post is part of a series in which students reflect on their discussions in the UC Berkeley undergraduate seminar “Multicultural Germany.” This week’s summary is by Victoria Brinkerhoff: This week’s Multicultural Germany class readings and discussions delved into religious variation, contention, and representation within Germany today. We focused on questions and debates surrounding secularism, […]
Postcolonialism, Islam, and Contemporary Germany
Monika Albrecht Download PDF Abstract: This paper argues that unlike in Britain, France, or the United States, postcolonial thought has not yet arrived in German public debates on migration, integration, and Islam. Instead of accusing the German majority of neglecting the powerful explanatory framework the postcolonial paradigm provides, the article explores the reasons for this […]
Halal Burgers: Discrimination Against Non-Muslims?
French mayor René Vandierendonck protested against his local Quick outlet by filing charges against the fast food chain, claiming that its decision to replace its bacon burgers with halal burgers is prejudicial religious catering that discriminates against non-Muslim customers. Though he says “yes to diversity,” he also says “no to exclusion,” emphasizing that “[Quick] goes too […]
Islamist Violence in Europe – We Shouldn’t Exaggerate the Danger
http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,670050,00.html The recent attack on Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard has left much of Europe in fear of continued Islamic attacks against various communities. The article interviews Islam scholar Peter Heine on his views of the continued perception of terrorist danger in Germany. Peter Heine does a wonderful job of illustrating the viewpoints of parties on […]
Debate on Feminism and Islam
In a recent election in Switzerland, most citizens voted to ban the construction of minarets. Among those who voted for the ban were many Swiss feminists. Claudia Pinl asks whether it is fair to label the fears Western feminists have about Islam’s view of women as xenophobic, or if those Westerners who are afraid to […]