Georg August University in Göttingen has stood for enlightenment, freedom of science and democratic values for almost 300 years. Now a Muslim university group with links to the Islamist Al-Quds movement has organised an Islamic group prayer at the famous university – with participants shouting “Allahu Akbar” at the top of their voices. It is one of the largest and most important traditions in the Islamic faith: the fasting month of Ramadan, which lasts 30 days this year. During this time, Muslims abstain from food and liquids during the day and break their fast together after sunset. This breaking of the fast, called “Iftar”, is usually practised in private circles or in mosques.
This year, however, the Muslim University Group Göttingen (MHG) organised a Ramadan celebration in the foyer of the Georg-August University. There were lectures and speeches by Muslim preachers, a buffet and a gender-segregated prayer – in the middle of the state-subsidised university.
According to the scientific service of the German Bundestag, colleges and universities are a religiously and ideologically neutral space and must “ensure that their students do not have a confession imposed on them and always have the opportunity to withdraw spatially or ideologically from the beliefs practised by others.” The central lecture theatre building at the University of Göttingen is a public space that connects various lecture theatres and must be visited by students of different disciplines and faiths in order to get to their lectures or seminars.
The public group prayer, which the Muslim University Group had called for in advance on various social media platforms, including Instagram, began with the call to prayer by a muezzin who used the exclamation “Allahu Akbar”. More than 80 Muslims then gathered on prayer mats provided by the Muslim Students’ Union (MHG) in the university building and performed the Islamic prayer. There were also numerous calls of “Allahu Akbar” from the prayer leader present.
Particularly controversial: while the University of Göttingen has its own Equal Opportunities Officer, has set up its own portal for “Gender and Diversity in Teaching and Studies” and repeatedly emphasises the importance of gender equality in public, there was a clear gender divide at the prayer of the Muslim University Group Göttingen: men and women prayed at a great distance from each other, with the women sitting far behind the men. The Muslim University Group is particularly active on Facebook and Instagram and advertises to young students with joint “Brothers’ Evenings”, “Al-Quds Empowerment” workshops or appearances by Muslim preachers.
“Don’t miss this evening”: the group advertises its “Brothers Evening” to young students on Instagram.
The problem is that not all of the group’s events are independent. For example, the self-proclaimed motivational speaker and Muslim preacher Ustad Mouhsine Chtaiti gave a lecture for the university group at the beginning of the year entitled “To what extent can religious beliefs serve as a guide for realising good intentions?”
In the past, the preacher has already given lectures for the Islamic organisation DITIB, which has attracted negative media attention on several occasions due to its links to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and radical Islamist groups.
The MHG shared this picture of a lecture by Islamic preacher Ustad Mouhsine Chtaiti on the premises of the University of Göttingen on Instagram.
The speaker Abdul Aleem from the Muslim Instagram blog “Land of the Prophets” has also given a lecture for the MHG. Aleem regularly shares pictures and videos of anti-Israeli events on his blog and maintains close links to the Islamic community Milli Görüs e.V. (IGMG). This is categorised as an Islamist movement by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, which is said to have links to other radical Islamist and Salafist movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood or the Turkish right-wing extremist Ülkücü movement.
Abdul Aleem gave a lecture on “Al-Quds” empowerment for the controversial IGMG organisation. He gave the same lecture last year for the Muslim University Community in Göttingen.
Financed by Döner King?
According to information from NIUS, the organisation is primarily financed by donations. For example, the dessert at the breaking of the fast at the university is said to have been financed by the Göttingen kebab shop Döner King. It is unclear whether the group receives money from Islamic organisations such as DITIB or the IGMG.
During the event, adverts for the Göttingen kebab shop Döner King were displayed in the university building.
Attempts at religious proselytising in the context of the university are classified by the Federal Government’s scientific service as an encroachment on fundamental rights. The programmes offered by the Muslim University Community are primarily aimed at young students and are partly held on university premises. The President of Göttingen University, Metin Tolan, has so far refused to comment on the incident when asked by NIUS.
Nach Männern und Frauen getrennt: Islamisches Gruppengebet in der Uni Göttingen | NIUS.de