Desolation and hope in German city of Erfurt after far-right vote

February 09, 2020

Three days later, Julian Degen is still a little stunned. “I felt empty,” he says, nursing a coffee in the Left party’s Erfurt office, which doubles as a youth club called RedRoxx. “And then I was just angry.”

Degen is assistant to the local Left party leader Susanne Hennig-Wellsow, the Thuringian socialist who became briefly famous on Wednesday when she flung a bunch of flowers in disgust at the feet of Thomas Kemmerich, the Free Democrat (FDP) politician, who eventually lasted just three days as state premier of Thuringia.

Her frustration was palpable at the desolate gathering at RedRoxx in the aftermath of Wednesday’s vote. “I’ve never seen Susi like that,” Degen says.

Dozens of Left party supporters had gathered here to console each other after witnessing their worst nightmare: Not only had their candidate, the incumbent state premier Bodo Ramelow, been defeated, but for the first time since 1945, a mainstream German political party had collaborated with a far-right party to get their candidate elected.

Julian Degen (DW/B. Knight)

The Left party’s Julian Degen said Wednesday night’s events were unprecedented

Read more: Merkel slams ‘unforgiveable’ far-right vote

Strange atmosphere in Erfurt

Hennig-Wellsow’s gesture of outrage in the chamber was reflected in the spontaneous demonstration that appeared on the steps of parliament even as Kemmerich was giving his acceptance speech inside.

That protest, attended by over 1,000 people, also felt unique, according to Degen. “It’s so hard to get people on the streets in Erfurt,” the activist said. “But on Wednesday, I talked to people who would never normally go to a demo. People just walked out of work to join us.” Even the police, usually tough on protests outside parliament, acted with unusual understanding, he said.

Despite so much anger being directed at the FDP, for the Left party, the biggest disappointment was the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). If only five Thuringian parliamentarians from Angela Merkel’s party had abstained, Kemmerich would not have been elected, sparing him and his party leader Christian Lindner, not to mention CDU head Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, a week of turmoil that has seriously damaged all their positions. In the event, just three CDU delegates abstained, so Kemmerich won by one vote.

“Right until the end we hoped there would be people in the CDU who under no circumstances would make common cause with the AfD,” said Katja Maurer, Left party state parliament member, who spent the dramatic night dividing her time between the fractious parliamentary session, heated party meetings, and the angry demo outside. “I’ve never seen so many people cry because of an election, including me.”

RedRoxx in Erfurt (DW/B. Knight)

The Left party office in Erfurt has reinforced windows because of sustained vandalism

When the moment came, “it was a shock because we realized that our position, believing that the CDU still had a spark of democratic will, was naïve,” she told DW. The Erfurt CDU, like all the other parties represented in Thuringia’s parliament except the Left party, did not respond to DW’s request for an interview on Saturday.

Read more: Opinion: A disgrace for Germany

The popular premier: Bodo Ramelow

For others in Erfurt, Wednesday’s vote was all the more bitter because it may yet mean the end of the Ramelow era. The Left party’s outgoing state premier established a reputation as a competent governor: his personal ratings, sometimes over 60%, show that his popularity extends well beyond the state’s Left party base.

Ramelow’s defeat was one reason why Suleman Malik, spokesman for the Ahmadiyya mosque, joined the demo on Wednesday, along with other members of Erfurt’s small Muslim community.

Read more: Why is everyone in Germany talking about Thurinigia and AfD?

“It’s shameful when, out of power interests and political strategy, a democratic vote is used to accomodate anti-democratic parliamentarians,” he told DW. “Of course we took to the streets, because we saw that these enemies of democracy were threatening our basic democratic order. For me, it was a slap in the face for democracy, what happened here.”

Ramelow’s signals in support of religious freedom were vital to Malik, whose reformist brand of Islam is not accepted in Pakistan and many Arab nations. One of the few openly practicing Christians among Left party leaders, Ramelow showed his solidarity in November 2018, when, in the face of far-right protests, the state premier showed up to lay the foundation stone for the Ahmadiyya mosque.

Mosque construction site in Erfurt (DW/B. Knight)

Suleman Malik: Ahmadiyya mosque will be first ‘visible’ mosque in eastern Germany outside Berlin

The first ‘visible’ mosque

The Ahmadiyya community is now hoping to open the place this summer. According to Malik, it will be eastern Germany’s first “visible” mosque outside Berlin, that is, the first free-standing mosque with a minaret and a dome.

“This is important, so we can show we are part of society, and people can come and meet Muslims,” Malik says, standing at the mosque’s construction site on Saturday. “This is exactly the kind of place where prejudice can be broken down.”

Read more: AfD’s Björn Höcke: Firebrand of the German far-right

For Malik, this week’s events, Ramelow’s defeat and the AfD’s influence it highlighted, have a direct bearing on the mosque and the open society it represents. The small half-built structure is the result of a 15-year struggle: the process of collecting the donations, finding the land, and gaining planning permission were all dragged out by local resistance, one way or another.

Even now, the prejudice is having a real effect: Malik says construction was delayed by six months because some firms refused the contract for fear of hostility. “And that fear is stirred up by anti-democratic forces in parliament,” said Malik.

But it was worth it. “We are seeing that there is an increase in the community again,” said Malik. “People are coming back to Erfurt because they are seeing that there is a place for Muslims to meet.”

“There were protests, yes,” he adds, before matter-of-factly mentioning the pig cadavers dumped at the site, as well as the regular death threats and abuse he receives online as the Ahmadiyya community’s most prominent member. “But there were also a lot of supporters. People fought with us, they took to the streets.”

Berlin’s mosques

Indian inspiration

The Berlin Mosque, surrounded by residential homes in Berlin’s Wilmersdorf district, is the oldest surviving mosque in Germany. The building was designed by German architect Karl August Herrmann and was officially opened in 1928. It is modeled on the Taj Mahal in India.

Berlin’s mosques

A missionary mosque

All sermons have been held in German since the mosque was opened, although the calligraphy on the prayer room walls is in Arabic. The complex was originally built for the purpose of proselytizing – the first German couple who converted to Islam was married here in 1934. Today the mosque is mainly used for Friday prayers and as an information center.

Berlin’s mosques

Surviving war

The scars of time are visible on the Ahmadiyya Mosque’s inner walls. The structure was badly damaged by Soviet army bombardments during World War II. It was later restored during the postwar period, thanks to help from the Allies and donations from Lahore. The mosque has been listed as a historical monument since 1993.

Berlin’s mosques

Bauhaus meets Islam

Another house of worship belonging to the Ahmadiyya community is located in Berlin’s Heinersdorf district. The Khadija mosque was the first to be built in what used to be communist East Germany, and is a fusion of Western and Islamic architecture. Here, the modernist Bauhaus style is coupled with the characteristic dome and a 12.5-meter (41-foot) minaret.

Berlin’s mosques

Controversial beginnings

There were violent protests leading up to the mosque’s opening in 2008. The fact that it was finally accepted by the community is to the credit of the “Open up Heinersdorf” initiative and its first Imam Abdul Basit Tariq, who advocated for openness, sharing and “love for all, hatred for none.”

Berlin’s mosques

Simple elegance

Functionality is a key feature of the building’s interior, and local architect Mubashra Ilyas shied away from using too many decorative elements. The building has enough space for a total of 500 worshippers. The lower rooms can accommodate around 250 people, and there’s a separate area above the main hall reserved for women.

Berlin’s mosques

Berlin’s biggest

The Sehitlik Mosque in Neukölln serves as a cultural center as well as a place of worship. It can hold up to 1,500 people, and is the largest Islamic mosque in Berlin. It was one of the selected locations visited by German President Joachim Gauck during his official inauguration in 2012.

Berlin’s mosques

Islamic cemetery

The mosque was built next to the Islamic Sehitlik cemetery in the 1980s and was later extended. Prussian King Wilhelm I transfered the land to the Turkish community back in 1866. Today, only funeral ceremonies are performed on the property. The dead are then usually taken to other cemeteries or to their home countries.

Berlin’s mosques

Cultural exchange

The mosque isn’t just for Muslims. The Sehitlik community also seeks to foster a relationship with Berlin’s non-Muslim population. The mosque hosts a variety of events and offers tours several times a day. Guides point out the mosque’s features and aim to give visitors a better understanding of the principles of Islam.

Berlin’s mosques

Islamic center in Kreuzberg

At first glance, the Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque doesn’t look like a place of worship. It blends in rather harmoniously with this street block in the heart of Kreuzberg. It’s part of the Islamic Mashari Center, where shops, cafes and a travel agency are housed next to prayer rooms. A madrasa was also opened here in 2008.

Berlin’s mosques

Opulent washrooms

Magnificently decorated walls and ceilings form the backdrop for the washrooms in the Mashari center’s basement. This is where the faithful carry out their ritual ablutions. Islam requires devout Muslims to pray five times a day, but before they can do this they need to ensure physical and mental purity.

Berlin’s mosques

A truly international community

There’s enough space for about 1,000 people in the prayer room beneath the opulent chandeliers. Most of those who come to the mosque have Turkish roots, but Bosnians, Arabs and Africans also attend prayer here. The Friday prayer is usually held in Arabic, while screens on the walls give translations in German and Turkish.

Berlin’s mosques

One mosque, two domes

This dome stands out like a molehill in the mosque’s backyard. Even Islamic places of worship are subject to Berlin’s building regulations – this green roof is obligatory under the city’s codes. At the front of the property there’s another dome made of glass, where the site’s caretaker lives.

Author: Till Strätz, Max Zander / nm