A Miscellany of German Cultural Enrichment

JLH has translated two cultural enrichment articles from last month’s German press. The translator includes this note:

Here are two short, quite diverse items. The second of them is the oldest in a string of stories on the German website noted. The first story makes me think of the American government’s dim idea of what Muslim organizations in the U.S.A. are, and the longstanding deference to CAIR.

The first story is from Rhine Main hronline:

Turkish Female Academics: “My taxes are not for imams”

January 27, 2010

Turkish female academics are forming an initiative against narrowing the integration debate to religious themes. They are demanding better educational opportunities for immigrant children.

Dentist Ezhar Cezairli, who is a member of the Islam Conference, is concerned that the inclusion above all of religious themes such as the training of Islamic prayer leaders is becoming overpowering. “I am against my taxes being paid for the training of imams.” What is important is educational opportunities. Parents of immigrant children must be convinced how important school and education are.

Cezairli is one of 25 female Turkish academics who founded the “Frankfurt Initiative of Progressive Women” on Wednesday. The initiative also criticizes the fact that the inclusion debate is be conducted with the large Muslim organizations which represent at best 20% of all Muslims.

Integration Official Praises Initiative

The founding members of the group include lawyers, business owners, business graduates and psychologists. They are aware of being role models and therefore want to intervene in the political discussion about the integration of foreigners. Praise for the Frankfurt Initiative comes from Maria Böhmer, administration official for integration. The initiative, she says, is setting an important example. She also deplored the unequal treatment of men and women in many traditional Turkish families.

The second story is from Bonn, and was published in Express.de:

Defendant skips out

Bonn’s Most Brutal House-Invader in the Wind

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January 7, 2010

By Dietmar Bickman

Bonn/Troisdorf — He gagged the 65 year-old house owner so that she almost suffocated. The burglar’s proceeds: jewelry and money (45,000 Euros). In spite of the brutal attack, Kalef H. (28) remained at liberty because there was no danger of flight. Bad mistake. He is on the run. He did not come to the trial. The court waited for the defendant for an hour and a half. His defense attorney, Dr, Frank Seebode (“First, the reasons for his failure to appear must be clarified.”) failed to reach Kalef H. (name changed) on his cell phone. Police dispatched to his residence did not find him there. H. disappeared at the time of his trial for armed robbery and unlawful imprisonment. Despite the serious charges, the burglar was not kept in custody. Allegedly, there was no flight risk. According to Seebode, H. fulfilled one condition very well. He reported to the police every week. The court wants the defendant found by Monday. If that does not happen, the whole trial could fall apart.

He is Bonn’s most brutal burglar. Just before 2:30 PM on December 13, 2007, with two masked accomplices, he rang the doorbell of the 65 year-old’s one-family house. The men overpowered her and tied her to a chair, immobilizing hands, feet and body with tape. They also taped her mouth shut. The 65 year-old almost suffocated.

One of the perpetrators showed her a cigar cutter and said: “If you don’t show us where the money is, we’ll cut a finger off.” They found a haul: cash (20,000 Euros) as well as watches, rings and gold and silver necklaces (24,000 Euros). After 45 minutes, the torture was over for the 65-year-old.

The police are seeking two of the burglars to this day. Only Kalef H. fell into the hands of investigators. Experts found his DNA on a jewelry box he had carelessly thrown away right after the robbery. Kalef H. then sat in jail for three weeks — until he was set free because of “no flight risk.”

For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.