Kippot, Hijab and Crosses in Berlin? Oh Nein!

Jews, Muslims and Chris­tians living in Berlin report various diffe­rent expe­ri­ences and percep­tions of their reli­gious expres­sion, calling for a more inclu­sive reli­gious and national reality. Eliana Rudee, Katha­rina Petry and Asmaa Abula­tifa talked to belie­vers of these three reli­gions.

Accor­ding to the United Nations Universal Decla­ra­tion of Human Rights, freedom of self-expres­sion and reli­gion are granted to all humans world­wide. Attacks, both verbal and physical, violate human rights to inte­grity, privacy and freedom of expres­sion and reli­gion. However, reli­gious Jews, Muslims and Chris­tians in Berlin are often exposed to various forms of discri­mi­na­tion due to attire that indi­cates to which reli­gion they belong.

On April 17th, 2018, an Arab-Israeli man wearing a kippah (skullcap worn by reli­gious Jews) was atta­cked on a Berlin street and lashed with a belt as the atta­cker repeated the Arabic word for Jew, ​“Yahudi.” Although the young victim was not in fact Jewish, the event prompted discus­sion in the Jewish commu­nity regar­ding reli­gious expres­sion in Berlin.

Jour­na­list and author of A Jew in Neukölln, Ármin Langer, writes about Jewish life in his district – one known for its large number of Arab migrants and as a result considered a ​“no go” area for Jews despite Langer’s thesis that it can be a great area for them. Addi­tio­nally, he promotes Muslim-Jewish dialogue with his Salaam-Shalom initia­tive, hoping to make a change in the percep­tion of the neigh­bour­hood amongst Jews and Muslims.

Langer only wears a kippah while studying and praying and claims that he has been asked ​“many times” by Berli­ners why he does not wear a kippah on a regular basis. ​“Many fetis­hize a kippah here,” he said. ​“It makes them happy to see [physical evidence] of Jewish life thri­ving in Berlin post Second World War.”

Between anti-Semi­tism and philo-Semi­tism

Accor­ding to Langer, when one wears a kippah or iden­ti­fies oneself as a Jew, ​“nobody treats you as a normal human being,” for better or worse. ​“There is both anti-Semi­tism and philo-Semi­tism, both of which treat Jews as a homo­ge­nous coll­ec­tive.”

As a Jew, he said, ​“it is quite obvious that I don’t belong here,” said Langer, who was born in Germany and grew up in Austria and Hungary. Langer put forward that he often expe­ri­ences anti-Semitic comm­ents, whether he is wearing a kippah or not. ​“The other day at a party, someone found out I was Jewish and his first ques­tion was whether I come from a wealthy family.”

Langer expressed his hope that Germany will ​“learn from America”, a country that he believes has a more inclu­sive concept of natio­na­lity. ​“Stereo­types are deeply rooted in Euro­pean culture.” Despite this, Langer expressed his belief in the power of educa­tion for a more inclu­sive reality.

Head of the Jewish Student Union demands another mindset

Similar to Langer’s expe­ri­ences, Dalia Grin­feld, head of the Jewish student union in Germany, main­tained that when wearing a magen david (Jewish star) neck­lace in Berlin, ​“people ask where I’m from with the mindset that you can’t be Jewish and German at the same time.”

Grin­feld spoke of hiding her neck­lace when walking in certain areas of Berlin, fearful of physical attacks. ​“The fact that Jews are scared to show that they are Jewish is a big problem. We need a diffe­rent mindset in Germany of under­stan­ding that diver­sity is good,” claimed Grin­feld.

Jews are not the only group atta­cked and excluded from German iden­tity. Many ​‘covered’ Muslim women can be found on the streets of Germany. However, despite the country’s hete­ro­gen­eity and imple­men­ta­tion of rights and laws, they are some­times atta­cked or not accepted in society due to the mani­fes­ta­tion of their reli­gion through attire.

Accor­ding to one inter­pre­ta­tion of the Quran, the Muslim dress code requires Muslim women to wear the headscarf known as the hijab along with clot­hing that covers their entire bodies. (Suret el Ahzab Aya 58 – 59 / Suret el Noor Aya 31)

Not accepted as a German citizen

“Go back to your country”, were the words spoken to Zainab, a 21-year-old Turkish woman born and raised in Berlin. Despite her German natio­na­lity, she is not viewed as a German citizen by many Berli­ners and is exposed to various forms of discri­mi­na­tion such as constantly been harassed and made fun of in the streets simply because of her hijab.

Indeed, accor­ding to an Ipsos study on the inclu­si­ve­ness of natio­na­li­ties, only Chris­tians and athe­ists are seen by the majo­rity as ​“real” natio­nals.” The survey found that only around half of Germans believe that a Muslim can be a real German, with 26 percent saying they cannot be German, 27 percent respon­ding that they were ​“unsure” and 47 percent saying that Muslims can be real Germans. Like­wise, only 46 percent of Germans believe that a Jew can be a real German, with 29 percent saying they were ​“unsure” and 25 percent respon­ding that Jews cannot be real Germans.

Not only are the majo­rity of Germans unsure or do not believe Jews and Muslims can be real Germans, but accor­ding to Langer, ​“in Berlin, people consider reli­gious people to be pre-enligh­tened.” Such beliefs may affect the way Berli­ners choose to dress as an expres­sion of their reli­gion. ​“This affects people of colour and people who wear any reli­gious symbol that is not a symbol of German­ness – affec­ting mino­ri­ties such as Jews and Muslims – those who are visibly ​‘other’” said Langer.

On the other hand, Birol, a Turkish man working in the Omar Ibn el Khattab mosque in Berlin, reported that neither him nor the mosque have been exposed to any form of reli­gious discri­mi­na­tion. He claimed this might be due to the loca­tion of the mosque, Kreuz­berg, considered to be a ​“Turkish neigh­bour­hood” with Germans who are ​“very comfor­table living around Muslims.”

It is diffi­cult to measure viola­tions against Chris­tians in Berlin as the Catholic faith is not usually visible. Accor­ding to a study of the German Federal Criminal Police office, there have been 100 attacks against Chris­tians in Germany in 2017. Some Chris­tians believe that their freedom of reli­gious expres­sion is limited in offi­cial insti­tu­tions in Berlin.

While few people wear a cross neck­lace, Catholic reli­gious iden­tity is often expressed through commit­ment to communal acti­vi­ties.

Natio­na­lity and faith as parts of iden­tity

Alex­andra, 22, takes part in the Catholic student’s council at the Free Univer­sity of Berlin and stated that being Chris­tian is a part of her iden­tity and a constant in her life, with faith playing a role in her family. Like­wise, being German is also important to her iden­tity.

Alex­andra describes the way other people perceive her as a Chris­tian as mainly posi­tive: ​“I often discuss what I believe with others and it is very inte­res­ting to see other perspec­tives of non-belie­vers.” Living in the city for the last four years, she attends services at least once or twice a week and expressed that her daily life is influenced by being Chris­tian.

She ​“found it a pity” that the ​“poli­tics in Berlin don’t support reli­gion.” For example, she said, the two Chris­tian holi­days on October 31st (Refor­ma­tion Day) and November 1st (All Saint’s Day) are not public holi­days in the federal state of Berlin, whereas in most of the other federal states in Germany, ​“at least one of them is a public holiday.”

A new reality of belon­ging

Univer­sity poli­cies are also influenced by poli­tics in Berlin, main­tained Alex­andra. ​“We have limi­ta­tions in promo­ting our Catholic student’s group, as well as every other reli­gious group at the Free Univer­sity of Berlin.” For Alex­andra, this is not a satis­fying reality.

“I have the feeling that in Berlin, the diver­sity of cultures is supported, but not the variety of reli­gions,” she said.

Dissa­tis­fac­tion among Jews, Muslims and Chris­tians regar­ding their ability to fully express their reli­gious iden­tity in Berlin raises the ques­tion of how the city can create a space more inclu­sive for reli­gious expres­sion.

As expressed by Jewish author Ármin Langer; the fact that Germany is home to the second highest number of immi­grants in the world, leading to diverse reli­gious reali­ties in Berlin, neces­si­tates ​“a new reality of belon­ging”, voicing his hope that taking action through his Salaam-Shalom initia­tive might trail­blaze a more inclu­sive society and soli­da­rity between mino­ri­ties and their allies.