Translation:
Essen’s mayor Thomas Kufen (CDU) reacts with horror to a demonstration in his city on Friday evening. 3,000 people, including many Islamists, marched through the Ruhr metropolis.
Essen’s mayor Thomas Kufen (CDU) reacted with outrage and incomprehension to an anti-Israel demonstration that marched through the Ruhr metropolis on Friday evening. Several of the approximately 3,000 participants chanted slogans and held up posters calling for a “Khilafah” (caliphate) in Germany. The three-hour procession on the edge of the city center was accompanied by 450 police officers and observed by state security.
According to the Essen police, the demonstration was registered by a private individual. However, the main organizer was apparently the “Generation Islam” group, which security experts consider to be part of the pan-Islamist movement “Hizb ut-Tahrir” (HuT) . HuT has been banned in Germany since 2003. The main speaker at the final rally in Essen was the activist Ahmad Tamim, the head of “Generation Islam.” The Islamic scholar Ahmad Omeirate told WAZ that Tamim was “using the Middle East conflict for mobilization and radicalization.”
Mayor Kufen regretted on Saturday morning that “Islamists, anti-democrats and Jew-haters” were allowed to parade through Essen protected by the freedom of assembly guaranteed by the Basic Law: “That is difficult to bear.” The CDU politician, who was the North Rhine-Westphalia state government’s integration officer from 2005 to 2010, called for consequences: “The Office for the Protection of the Constitution must take a closer look at Hizb ut-Tahrir’s splinter and successor groups. Bans must be an option.”
The demonstrators shouted slogans in Arabic and German on Friday evening. Posters condemned the Israeli military operation in Gaza (“Stop the genocide”) after the terrorist attack by the Palestinian Hamas, and one sign read: “German raison d’état calls for the killing of children.” The organizers initially used loudspeakers to remind people of the police requirement that no participant should question Israel’s right to exist. The tip-off was met with loud boos from the crowd.
At the beginning of the march, participants were also asked over loudspeakers to separate men and women. So it happened that most of the female demonstrators marched through the city behind the male participants. They repeatedly shouted “Allahu akbar” (“God is great”) and held up signs calling for the unity of all Muslim believers and the establishment of a caliphate in Germany. Individual demonstrators stuck their right index fingers in the air; This gesture is intended to symbolize belief in the “one God”, but is also seen as a symbol of the terrorist organization “Islamic State”. The design of several black and white banners and flags also resembled depictions of IS.
The Essen police announced on Saturday that they would subsequently analyze the Friday demonstration and examine its “criminal relevance”. It turned out that the motive for a pro-Palestine meeting was only a pretext. Instead, the organizers held a religious event.
The more I see who is “protesting” for Palestine the more I understand why Israel and Egypt are doing what they are doing.
There’s plenty of survey data. It’s a sad reality that a large part, likely the majority of the adult population, in Gaza is staunchly fascist. And I don’t mean post-fascist or right-wing-populist like Trump and Le Pen are, I mean fascist in the sense that Hitler and Mussolini were.
Some numbers:
53% approval rate for Hamas in 2019, .
In a survey this summer 70% of Palestinians were against a two-state solution and a majority of favor of an “armed struggle”
And of course there’s the fact that 2013 at least 59% of Palestinians were in favor of executing apostates (i.e. murdering people who cease to be Muslim).
I would get less worrisome poll results if I went to a KKK rally.
Given how popular violence against fascists is in the feddiverse, I’m really vexed about the side that is taken here. Usually I have to remind people that just killing fascists on sight isn’t a good solution to the problem of fascism, but suddenly people here sound like Trump did on the Charlottesville rally.
Seeing people openly supporting Islamic jihadism like we’re seeing, not even one generation removed from 9/11 is so crazy to me.
Social Media is a damned virus. It’s fucking up far too many people for society to not fall apart at the seams. From supporting someone like Trump, to not believing in the science around COVID, to now supporting Hamas… like wtf is happening in the world.
Not a fan of social media either, but in large parts it’s merely showing what was already there.
The interesting thing is that in many Muslim majority countries currently experience a historic decline in religiosity. Young people In Iraq, Iran and Northern Africa tend to be worlds less religious than their parents generation. Outside Palestine more and more people seem to get that religious fanatics bring nothing but trouble. Unless the conflicts in the middle east escalate we stand a good chance that Islamism will be a fringe ideology there in the second half of the century. Hence I’m still cautiously optimistic that things will sort itself out.
The protests for Palestine in London have been a cross section of the left and centre left. Muslims, Jews, Christians Socialists, liberals. White and black. Young and old. But our politicians and media paint them as pro Hamas hate marches.
Throwing everyone in one bucket is a terrible idea.
I also hate the apartheid shit going in and around Israel as well es the war crimes commited by their government and military. At the same time I hate antisemitism equally as much.
The people who marched on this “protest” are just awful, hateful and terribly dumb people who deserve no support and all the criticism. But not everyone protesting because of the current situation with Israel is therefore automatically doing it for awful reasons.
I also don’t see how it helps analyse and prevent the causes of these antisemitic feelings in any of the groups. Though it often feels like nobody is even really trying to seriously prevent it anyway, especially not the people complaining the loudest about antisemitism.
So you’d put them all together? Say in a bucket?
The people in this particular rally demonstrated for the erection of a caliphate in Germany. So yeah, let’s just put them in a bucket “hateful, awful, dumb, don’t support”.
A bucket it is then!
The point is that this rally isn’t the only one. And putting everyone from all rallies in the same bucket isn’t fine.
If you read the article you would see that it is merely used as a pretext. As Germany initially banned all demonstrations in support for Palestinians it is no suprise that extremist groups could undermine the cause, as moderates werent willing to get beaten up by cops.
This is an expected effect that was deliberately caused by the German government. They full well knew before that banning moderate demonstrations will lead to radicals taking over. And it seems to be part of a strategy to rile up hate for muslims in general in conjunction with plans to step up deportations and limit access to refugee granted under human rights.
Now that’s a fun conspiracy theory to completely ignore the kind of people who protest against Israel.
And no one gets “beaten up” by the police at these protests. In fact the police had to establish protected zones for journalists to shield them from the “peace” protestors.
Like leftist Jews for example? There definitely a lot lf awful people protesting for Palestine at the moment. But to imply that it’s only one group or another and generally isn’t a super diverse group isn’t helpful either. The US just had the biggest anti-war protest since the Bush era.
So you are claiming that repression of protests does not lead to radicalization? So all of the effects observed at G20 in Hamburg, the Arab spring, the civil rights movement in the US, all that didn’t happen to you?
Except yes they were and there is plenty of videos online. Fun fact on the side. The Berlin police in Germany is currently facing criticism for violently attacking a peaceful climate protest too, where a protestor was smacked on the pavement and dragged away while being unconscious.
A complete nonsense connection you are trying to make here. German gov supposedly prohibiting pro terrorist demonstrations so only those would attend them? While at the same time having to create protected zones where journalists can report on the protests without getting attacked by the “peaceful” activists demanding a caliphate?
We have eyes, you know? And everyone sees what is going on.
This is disinformation, Germany did not ban all pro Palestinian protests.
The tone in mainstream media and from leading politicians at the very least strongly discourages any pro-Palestine demonstrations. But you’re right insofar as explicit bans only came down on two organisations, one of them being “Hamas” itself (which I think doesn’t really exist in Germany anyway).
Well said, I’d add more but not sure what the point is. There are so many agendas at play here, that arguing with them all is pointless.
Whats Egypt doing? Is it also a genocide?
There is no genocide. Egypt closed their border with Gaza and tells the people to fuck off because they are convinced they are terrorists. And Palestines “friends” only give Israel shit because they know Egypt is right.
So you disagree with the people from the UN that called it a “textbook case of genocide”?
Isn’t Egypt the only border accepting evacuees? I missed it, is Israel evacuating the injured Palestinian civilians somewhere internally now? Who are Palestine’s “friends”, are they helping the humanitarian situation in some way?
One dumbass calling it that does not mean “the UN” but nice try.
What about these UN guys? Them Too?
Nice try? Huh?
Also not “the UN”. It is not a genocide no matter how many supposed authorities you wish to pull out of your hat who share the same opinion as you.
Seven people that work for the UN is not the UN? Who is an acceptable source from the UN then? Do you have anyone specific in mind? Is genocide a matter of opinion to you?
It’s a genocide according to the UN once there’s a resolution from the UN calling it that. It’s that easy. People working for the UN are not the institution UN.
That being said, what’s happening to the civilians in Gaza is absolutely horrific.
When you start siding with and “understanding” what military dictatorships like Egypt are doing the you really should take a pause and listen to yourself.
Are there any red lines that you are not willing to cross? Is the dislike for brown people so strong that basics tenants are sacrificed.
Good lord
What the fuck?