The social councillor of the Neukölln district of Berlin, Falko Liecke ( Christian Democratic Union, CDU), has warned against the influence of Islamists and “headscarf activists” in sharp tones. The headscarf is “not necessarily a religious symbol, but certainly a political one”, Liecke writes in his book “Brennpunkt Deutschland. Armut, Gewalt, Verwahrlosung – Neukölln ist erst der Anfang” (Poverty, Violence, Neglect – Neukölln is only the Beginning), which was published on Friday and deals with social problems, crime and extremism. First and foremost, the headscarf is a symbol of the “inequality of men and women” and reduces women “to a purely sexual function that needs to be covered up”.
Liecke, who is also vice-chairman of the Berlin CDU, emphasises: “There is not an Islamist who wears a headscarf. But those who act as ” activists of the headscarf” represent a “fundamental, anti-feminist and political Islam”, which is in contradiction to freedom and democracy. Those who understand the headscarf as a binding religious symbol ultimately show a “backward” understanding of Islam.
Women without headscarves and girls are put under massive pressure in parts of Neukölln by the loud minority of supporters, Liecke argues. In a primary school near the Al-Nur mosque, which is observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, more and more girls would appear with headscarves already at the age of eight, nine or ten.
According to Liecke, the big problem here is so-called legalistic Islamism. This is a movement that acts without violence, but wants to change society in the direction of strict Islam through influences in politics, media and associations. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution sees it as a “danger to democracy” with “considerable influence”. Liecke criticises that many negative influences can be felt: rainbow flags are torn down in youth facilities, female teachers in trousers are attacked, forced marriages continue to be a big problem. At the same time, clubs and associations from the field of political Islam were being supported by the Berlin Senate with taxpayers’ money.
Liecke had recently caused fierce contradiction by posting a tweet about the new federal leaders of the Green Party, Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour. To a photo of the two, Liecke posted: “I wish a happy “Allahu Akbar””. After protests, he deleted the tweet and wrote: “There is justified cause for criticism when Mr Nouripour says that it is the task of the Bundestag to implement parts of Sharia law into our legal system. But the nature of my criticism was misleading in this form.”
Ferat Kocak, a Left Party MP, accused Liecke of “racist agitation against Muslims”. Liecke, he said, was paving the ground for acts like the racist series of murders in Hanau, where a 43-year-old man killed nine people two years ago. Kocak added: “Why is a white cis male conservative politician acting as the saviour of “oppressed women with headscarves”?”