Protagonists of Religious Diversity
A priest, a rabbi and a Muslim journalist: three protagonists of religious diversity in Germany.
Gregor Hohberg, priest of the Protestant parish of St. Peter and St. Mary in Berlin
“I regard our society as very tolerant.” When Gregor Hohberg says this, it is easy to believe that this is more than merely wishful thinking. Furthermore, the Protestant priest is also doing something about it. He is one of the initiators of the “House of One”: Jews, Christians and Muslims have a joint plan to erect a building on Petriplatz in Berlin that would house a synagogue, a church and a mosque. “People will be able to remain true to their own faith there, draw on the building’s strength and engage in a peace-loving dialogue with one another and with the city’s secular society”, explains Hohberg. As well as collecting donations for this ambitious project, the association “Bet- und Lehrhaus Petriplatz Berlin e. V.” (i.e. Petriplatz Berlin house of prayer and teaching) is organizing events such as a series of discussions of issues concerning religion and tolerance.
Alina Treiger, rabbi of the Jewish community of Oldenburg
Alina Treiger personifies a combination of different elements which to some people might appear difficult to reconcile. She was the first woman to train as a rabbi in Germany since the Holocaust – at Abraham Geiger College in Potsdam, a liberal rabbinical seminary. This young woman from Ukraine not only decided to study in the country responsible for the incomprehensible crimes of the Holocaust – but also remained in Germany. “There is a need for Russian-speaking rabbis in Germany”, is the reason she gave for her decision at a recent meeting of rabbis at Berlin’s Centrum Judaicum. Alina Treiger also promotes interfaith dialogue in her community in the Lower Saxon city of Oldenburg. A discussion of the way in which religions view women and families is planned for December 2015, for example – the panel will comprise Treiger, a Muslim woman and a Christian woman.
Abdul-Ahmad Rashid, editor at public service broadcaster ZDF
“Since 2012, representatives of the Protestant Church in Germany and of the Muslim Coordinating Council have traditionally come together once a year for a high-level meeting”. These were the words Abdul-Ahmad Rashid used in June 2015 to introduce a ZDF feature about the interfaith dialogue forum. Born in Cologne, 50-year-old Rashid is not only a well-wishing observer of religious exchange. He is among other things an expert from ZDF’s “Forum am Freitag” (i.e. Forum on Friday), an online programme designed to enable Muslims to “bring their specific view of coexistence in Germany to social debate”. Rashid, who sings in a Rolling Stones tribute band in his free time, wants his journalistic work to contribute “to a better understanding of Islam in Western society”.
http://abraham-geiger-kolleg.de
