Ishmael
JF-Expert Member
- Oct 18, 2011
- 15,039
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The vast majority of Muslims in Germany condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo in Paris. But they are concerned that a new wave of Islamophobia may wash over the country anyway.
It had been a busy few days for Aiman Mazyek. Radio interviews, television shows, phone calls -- he hadn't had a moment of quiet. Until midday last Tuesday. It came suddenly, as he was driving his Mercedes station wagon through Berlin, his iPhone switched off, its battery empty.
Aiman Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, at a vigil last week for the victims of the attacks in Paris.
The timing couldn't have been worse. Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, was to speak that evening at a vigil in the heart of Berlin for the victims of the attacks in Paris together with German President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel. Moreover, the mayor of Berlin was waiting for him to return his call as was the US ambassador. Mazyek cursed. On such a day, he didn't want anything to go wrong.
The son of a Syrian father and a German mother, Mazyek, 45, has been head of the Central Council of Muslims, one of several Muslim associations in Germany, for the last four years. In the past, critics have accused him of trivializing religious fundamentalism and he has occasionally found it difficult to decisively condemn the actions of reactionary fellow Muslims. But after the attacks in Paris, he quickly realized that a strong response was necessary. Which is why he was taking part in the vigil that evening at the Brandenburg Gate.
Read more: German Muslims Fear Backlash after Charlie Hebdo Attacks - SPIEGEL ONLINE
Sadly, Muslims all over Europe are bracing themselves for the inevitable blowback.
It had been a busy few days for Aiman Mazyek. Radio interviews, television shows, phone calls -- he hadn't had a moment of quiet. Until midday last Tuesday. It came suddenly, as he was driving his Mercedes station wagon through Berlin, his iPhone switched off, its battery empty.
Aiman Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, at a vigil last week for the victims of the attacks in Paris.
The timing couldn't have been worse. Mazyek, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, was to speak that evening at a vigil in the heart of Berlin for the victims of the attacks in Paris together with German President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel. Moreover, the mayor of Berlin was waiting for him to return his call as was the US ambassador. Mazyek cursed. On such a day, he didn't want anything to go wrong.
The son of a Syrian father and a German mother, Mazyek, 45, has been head of the Central Council of Muslims, one of several Muslim associations in Germany, for the last four years. In the past, critics have accused him of trivializing religious fundamentalism and he has occasionally found it difficult to decisively condemn the actions of reactionary fellow Muslims. But after the attacks in Paris, he quickly realized that a strong response was necessary. Which is why he was taking part in the vigil that evening at the Brandenburg Gate.
Read more: German Muslims Fear Backlash after Charlie Hebdo Attacks - SPIEGEL ONLINE
Sadly, Muslims all over Europe are bracing themselves for the inevitable blowback.
