Aiman Mazyek is the face of German Islam. No other Muslim has been so present in the media and so politically networked for years. He commemorated the victims of Islamist terror arm in arm with Chancellor Merkel. With the then Vice-Chancellor Gabriel, he travelled through the Islamic world shoulder-to-shoulder. He chatted with various German presidents in Bellevue Palace. And hardly a dialogue forum could do without him. If the state needed a representative Muslim, Mazyek and the Central Council of Muslims of Germany (ZMD), which he leads, were the first choice. At least until now.

That was always astonishing. After all, the Central Council only has a few tens of thousands among the five million Muslims in Germany. And according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it was always influenced by Islamist and Turkish nationalist forces. But Mazyek was a brand. Communicative. Charming. Never at a loss for an authoritative word. And as a person, he was more at home in the camp of conservative reformers than in that of the Islamists. For example, he undeniably supported the ideas of a reformer like Muhammad Asad for years – and thus caused many an ultra-conservative fellow believer to shake his head.

Now, however, the man from Aachen is in danger of losing ground. The Ministry of Education in North Rhine-Westphalia is responsible for this. It rejects Mazyek’s Central Council as a civic ally. Soon it will present the members of a Muslim commission that is to help shape Islamic religious education at schools in the state. Until now, the ZMD has always been part of similar committees.

Now, however, he is being booted out because, in the opinion of the government, he does not meet the criteria for participation. These range from independence from foreign countries to loyalty to the constitution. The government also dislikes the fact that the Islamist organisation DMG has not yet been definitively excluded from the Central Council. And that the Turkish nationalist organisation ATIB has a strong influence on the ZMD. The state is thus picking up on a mood among experts inside and outside the Office for the Protection of the Constitution that is increasingly critical of the ZMD.

However, the ZMD has never been distrusted in such a high-ranking position. And this is all the more remarkable because the state of North Rhine-Westphalia continues to accept the other associations, which could be accused of similar charges, as partners. The ZMD is obviously being deliberately targeted here.

That is why the Central Council is currently trying to sue its way into the commission in court. But that does not worry those responsible in the Ministry of Education. They are certain and want to appoint the commission members soon – without waiting for the court’s decision. That is why the ZMD started a second lawsuit, this time an urgent legal procedure. The ZMD wanted to prohibit the state from appointing the commission before the first lawsuit had been decided. This emergency application was rejected by the Administrative Court last week, as this newspaper learned. So the most important representatives of German Islam will soon be presented – but for the first time there will be no Mr Mazyek. Is this the beginning of the end or will the clever Mr Mazyek succeed in achieving a turnaround?

https://www.welt.de/regionales/nrw/article231033531/NRW-Schulministerium-lehnt-Zentralrat-der-Muslime-als-Partner-ab.html?fbclid=IwAR20Mr7UaC4-ZCSk6I34l-cfizYKeJ6wK_x6ZveCd25BFSujpKQXMh4GaZY

Algeria continues to demand that France pay reparations for the crimes committed during 132 years of colonization, Algerian Minister of Information and government spokesman Ammar Belhimer said on Saturday, on the country’s first day of national remembrance.

Algeria commemorates the independence movements of May 8, 1945, which were crushed by France. Algerian President Abdel-Majid Tebbún decided on the commemorations a year earlier. Saturday’s official celebrations centered on Setif, 300 kilometers east of Algiers, which was one of the bases for independence movements and one of the two sites of colonial authorities’ brutal reprisals.

Nuclear explosions and nuclear waste

Belhimer said another important element in settling the colonial past is for France to take responsibility for experimental nuclear explosions in Algeria and hand over maps showing the locations where nuclear waste was deposited. This topic is one of the biggest sources of contention between Paris and Algiers.

France carried out 17 experimental nuclear explosions in the Algerian desert, between 1960 and 1966 in Reggane and then in In Ekker. Eleven of these took place after Algeria gained its independence in 1962. One of the clauses in the Evian Convention, which ended the War of Independence, signed in March 1962, allowed France to use the Sahrawi experimental sites until 1967.

Macron made only symbolic gestures

Algeria’s information minister indicated on Saturday that Algeria has so far gained only modest financial but greater moral benefits from its claims for compensation, which remain important to the North African country. The head of the ministry highlighted that the skulls of 24 nationalist fighters had been recovered last July, and in March, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged the responsibility of the French army in the 1957 torture and assassination of nationalist leader Ali Bumangel.

Citing the speech of the Algerian minister, the French daily Le Monde noted that Macron has made a number of symbolic gestures for reconciliation in recent months as Algeria’s 60th anniversary of independence approaches. However, historian Benjamin Stora’s report submitted to the presidential office this January, on which Macron’s policy addressing France’s colonial past is based, does not propose either an apology or reparations, which has sparked criticism from many in Algeria.

Algeria demands compensation for French colonization

Mohammed was again the most frequently given boy’s name for newborns in Berlin last year. According to the Gesellschaft für deutsche Sprache e.V. (German Language Society), he was in first place, ahead of Noah and Henry. Mohammed thus leads the ranking of the most popular boys’ names in Berlin for the third year. The most common girl’s name in the capital in 2020 was Hanna, followed by Charlotte and Mia.

In Bremen, Mohammed also ranked among the three most popular boys’ names. Here, however, it fell from first place in the previous year behind Noah and Elias to third place. In the remaining 14 federal states, Mohammed did not make it into the top three names list.

According to the German Language Society, Mohammed is the most popular male first name in the entire Islamic world, which also makes it the most common male first name worldwide. “In Germany, it has only appeared more frequently since the 1980s. For some years now, it has been one of the ten most common boys’ names in some federal states. Overall, it ranks 24th among the most popular names in Germany.”

In 2020, Noah, Leon and Paul were the most common names for newborn boys in Germany. For girls, Emilia, Hanna and Emma prevailed.

https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/deutschland/2021/mohammed-vorname-berlin/

Windows of the Town church damaged by stone throwing.

The period of the crime in question was Saturday, May 8, 2021, noon to Sunday, May 9, 2021, 9:55 am.

Property damage amounting to EUR 1000 was caused to the windows of the town church on Kirchplatz square (photo).

Unknown perpetrators used stones and wheel nuts to break several windows at the rear of the Protestant Town Church. The windows were considerably damaged. The Schwalmstadt police station has started an investigation into the damage to property.

Please contact the Schwalmstadt police station if you have any information by calling 06691/9430.

https://www.presseportal.de/blaulicht/pm/44149/4911052

For days, there have been heavy clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in East Jerusalem due to planned forced evictions of Palestinian families’ homes. Hundreds of people have been injured since the unrest began. In the Berlin district of Neukölln, around 500 people took to the streets on Sunday in solidarity with the Palestinians. The protest did not remain peaceful. Bottles and also stones were reportedly thrown at police officers. Several people were arrested. Police also threatened to use pepper spray when an angry crowd confronted them.

https://politikstube.com/berlin-pro-palaestina-protest-in-neukoelln-flaschenwuerfe-und-festnahmen/

Chahinez, a 31-year-old mother of three originally from Algeria, died last week in Mérignac, near Bordeaux, after being burned alive by her violent 45-year-old husband, sparking a wave of indignation and protests from feminist groups.

On Wednesday evening, around 300 people, friends, neighbors, or activists, gathered for an hour in silence near the scene of the tragedy, placing flowers, candles, and a message: 

“We will not forget you,” was written on the sidewalk where the Algerian woman died.

On Tuesday evening, in the middle of the street of the quiet Bordeaux suburb, lined with small houses, Mounir B., who was already imprisoned for domestic violence in 2020, chased his estranged wife. He fired several gun shots in her legs until she collapsed, sprayed her with a flammable liquid while she was still alive, and then set her on fire, according to the prosecution and the police.

‘We thought that the noise was firecrackers. Afterward, he came to burn the house, he was shooting anywhere,” said a neighbor, Anne. The pavilion garage was burned down and the charred remains can still be seen. 

The suspect also allegedly attacked a man who tried to intervene in the attack.

After fleeing the scene, Mounir B. was arrested about half an hour later nearby and taken into police custody. 

During the investigation, he said that he wanted to “punish” his wife but denied intending to kill her. He told police he had obtained the gun used in the attack from “illegal immigrants in town”.

He “was carrying a 12-caliber rifle, a gas pistol, and a cartridge belt,” according to a statement from the prosecution, which opened an investigation for intentional homicide by spouse and destruction by fire.

“He was a monster,” said the victim

On June 25, 2020, in Bordeaux, the 40-year-old was sentenced to 18 months in prison including nine months suspended sentence and warrant of committal for “willful violence against a spouse” for an attack on his wife, according to the prosecution.

Released on Dec. 9, 2020, after serving only three months in prison for crushing his wife’s larynx, “he was since followed by the penitentiary service of integration and probation of the Gironde”.

This measure “included, in particular, a prohibition on the man coming in contact with the victim and the prohibition to appear at her home”, according to the prosecution.

Chahinez’s husband had not been assigned an electronic bracelet to track his movements.

“It was obvious that she was getting beaten, but she was very discreet. She said that it was complicated,” explains Chahima, 19, who began collecting donations via Instagram (TousavecChahinez) “so that she can be buried in Algeria with her family”.

“Chahinez said he was a monster. In June, she had her larynx crushed. He only served three months in prison, and he continued to move in the neighborhood,” adds Anne, who remembers having seen the victim with “two black eyes”.

On March 15, Chahinez lodged a complaint with the Mérignac police station against her spouse for an assault committed in the morning, according to the prosecution, but police were unable to locate him. 

As a mother of two children, aged 12 and seven, from a previous marriage, she arrived from Algeria five years ago, according to Anne, and remarried to 45-year-old Mounir B., father of her last 5-year-old son. The three children were not at home at the time of the incident, said the prosecution.

On Twitter, the Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship Marlène Schiappa said she was “horrified by this despicable crime”.

But associations have questioned the action of the state. “In addition to being a repeat offender, he had a gun! Again! But what is Gérald Darmanin doing?” tweeted Anne-Cécile Mailfert, president of the Women’s Foundation, which calls for the systematic withdrawal of firearms from violent spouses. Mailfert made no mention that the gun was obtained illegally from illegal immigrants in the country on the black market and the man held no license for the firearm. 

“State inaction,” wrote the Dare Feminism organization, estimating that “everyone knew he was dangerous and armed”.

The French Interior Ministry announced in February that it had asked the prefects to “systematically seize the weapons of violent spouses upon complaint”, a measure allowed since 2019, but still too little applied, according to associations.

In 2020, 90 femicides were officially recorded in France compared to 146 the previous year.

https://rmx.news/article/article/france-murder-abusive-husband-shoots-and-burns-his-wife-alive-after-obtaining-gun-from-illegal-immigrants-in-town

“Germany. Everything is included “— this is the title of the election manifesto of the Greens, on which the base is to vote in a few weeks. However, party members fear negative associations with the word “Germany”.

In the middle of June, the Greens sealed the candidacy of co-chair Annalena Baerbock for chancellor at a digital party congress. The election program for the Bundestag election in September is also up for voting . The current draft program’s title apparently irked more than 300 party members, including candidates for the Bundestag. They have therefore submitted an amendment. They proposed that the word “Germany” be removed from the title of the 136-page draft program.

Timon Dzienus, national board member of the Green Youth, is one of the supporters. In the past, Dzienus has shown solidarity with the left-wing extremist organization Ende Gelände [in jargon: “End of Discussion”]. The Berlin branch of the climate protection association Ende Gelände was classified as “left-wing extremist” by domestic intelligence, because of “targeted discrediting of statehood” and violence against police officers.

Other supporters suggested replacing the word Germany with “Green”. The title of the election manifesto should instead be: “Green. Everything is in there. “

The applicants justified their request for a change in the word Germany, because it can “have a very negative association”. They also see parallels to the motto of former President Donald Trump — a possible connection to “Germany first”. “Germany is associated more with nationalist politics. And that is in complete contrast to our multinational orientation and our commitment to Europe,” it continued. In addition, the title is “meaningless” and shows parallels to the election manifesto the AfD has chosen, which is entitled “Germany. But normal”.

According to information from the dpa news agency, there is a total of more than 3500 amendments to the election manifesto. The party headquarters of the Greens also pointed this out to German tabloid Bild. “More than 3000 amendments have been received to the draft program,” the newspaper quoted from a statement by the party. These are currently being reviewed by the application commission and processed by the party congress.

https://freewestmedia.com/2021/05/10/greens-want-to-delete-germany-from-election-platform/

With unusually sharp diction for diplomatic usage, Morocco criticises Germany’s attitude to the conflict over the Western Sahara.There is even talk of hostile actions by Germany against the higher interests of the Kingdom of Morocco. The following is the Moroccan government’s severe criticism:

The Federal Republic of Germany has multiplied its hostile acts and actions against the superior interests of the Kingdom of Morocco.
Thus, Germany has shown a negative attitude on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara. Its antagonistic activism following the proclamation of the American president recognising Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara is a serious matter that remains unresolved to this day.

Similarly, the authorities of this country are acting complicitly towards a former convict for terrorist acts, in particular by disclosing to him sensitive information transmitted by the Moroccan security services to their German counterparts.

Added to this is the continued determination to fight Morocco’s regional role, especially on the Libya issue, by trying to keep the Kingdom away from certain regional meetings dedicated to this issue, such as the one in Berlin.

For all these reasons and because of these constant and unacceptable adversities, the Kingdom of Morocco has decided to recall His Majesty the King’s Ambassador to Berlin for consultations.

http://www.diplomatie.ma/le-maroc-rappelle-lambassadeur-de-sa-majest%C3%A9-le-roi-%C3%A0-berlin-pour-consultations

At the same time – and this seems to be the current or premeditated trigger of diplomatic disagreements – Morocco criticises or insinuates that a German-Moroccan from Duisburg has received sensitive information from German authorities about Moroccan security services. The person in question is presumably Mohamed Hajib, whom Rabat considers a “former convict of terrorist acts” and who criticises the King and the political situation in Morocco on social media.

The German-Moroccan had been convicted of involvement in the formation of a terrorist organisation in Afghanistan and had been imprisoned in Morocco for seven years. (Hajib had become a member of the Sunni Tablighi Jamaat (TJ), Ed.)

Morocco had then filed charges against him in Germany and unsuccessfully sought an international arrest warrant from Interpol. German judicial authorities saw no evidence of calls for violence or criminal offences. In addition, Morocco criticised not having been invited to the Berlin Libya Conference in January 2020 and accused Germany of wanting to push back the country’s influence.

https://www.achgut.com/artikel/aerger_zwischen_marokko_und_berlin