The state of Berlin has set up a permanent panel to combat “anti-Muslim racism”. The experts will work to identify and understand structural discrimination, Justice Senator Lena Kreck (Left Party) announced, according to the newspaper Tagesspiegel.
She herself pleads for the abolition of the neutrality law in Berlin. This largely prohibits police and judicial officers as well as teachers in the civil service from wearing religious symbols such as headscarves.
Elif Eralp (Left Party), a member of parliament, emphasised: “Anti-Muslim racism is not only widespread on the extreme right, but also in the middle of society. This is now being fought in Berlin. According to Green politician Tuba Bozkurt, Muslims in Germany are “cheated of their rights”. The state secretary for diversity and anti-discrimination, Saraya Gomis ( independent), announced that she would support the committee financially in order to make studies possible.
Previously, there had already been an expert commission in Berlin on the topic of “anti-Muslim racism”. One of its members was Lydia Nofal, a delegate of the Islam Forum. She suggested, for example, that a guideline on Islamophobic crimes be prepared for the State Criminal Police Office.
Cihan Sinanoğlu from the German Centre for Integration and Migration Research complained that racism not only kills, but allegedly also leads to social inequality. A study had shown that women with headscarves had to apply four times more often to get a job with equivalent qualifications.
The publicist Ahmad Mansour, who also attended the meeting in Berlin as an expert, also commented on the topic. It is treated with a frightening “naivety and under-complexity” by some MPs.
https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2022/berlin-moslem-rassismus/