After six months, it is a first step towards each other, even if initially only on paper: On Wednesday evening, representatives of Jewish and Muslim religious communities in Munich signed a commitment to each other in the town hall. In it they reject any form of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. The Israel-Palestine conflict has inflicted deep wounds on the religious communities in the city and, in some cases, led to a complete breakdown of relationships that had been cultivated for years.
In mid-September last year, Jews and Muslims were one of 22 groups to sign this Munich Charter of Religious and Belief Communities, including representatives of the Christian churches. In it they committed themselves to common values and the German Basic Law. The assurance of mutual solidarity has proven unsustainable as a result of the war in the Middle East.
There was a struggle over wording for weeks
We have to react to October 7th and the discord in the city, especially from a Jewish and Muslim perspective, said on Wednesday SPD city councilor Marian Offman, who initiated the charter as the city’s commissioner for interreligious dialogue. In the presence of members of twelve religious communities, he called for an update of the document. “We particularly reject any form of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia,” it says here under the point “Human Dignity.”
Since Wednesday, this has also included the signature of Rabbi Shmuel Aharon Brodman for the Israelite Community, Gabriela Schneider for the liberal Jewish community Beth Shalom and Imam Benjamin Idriz for the Munich Forum for Islam. Real news, because representatives of these groups have not exchanged a word with each other for months.
The additional wording had been debated behind the scenes for weeks. Until Wednesday it was not clear whether everyone would support it. Among other things, it was about how explicitly anti-Semitism is defined here and whether recognition of Israel’s right to exist is included. With the mediation of Offman, himself a Jew, a Solomonic variant without explicitly mentioning Israel ultimately won the race: The addition is based on the comparatively general “Joint Declaration for Democracy against Right-Wing Extremism” from the town hall, which is part of the “Be One” campaign Person!” was formulated in March. The difference is that Islamophobia is also explicitly mentioned in the religious charter.
“These words must now be reconciled with what is happening outside the hall,” said Matthias von Sarnowski, city specialist for religious and ideological diversity, at the meeting on Wednesday, which was also attended by representatives of the city council. Thomas Lechner (Left) called on the religious communities to resume dialogue and to talk about “the unspeakable”. “This is the democratic and religious value that unites us.”
A working group should now draw up a concept by the summer break on how the city’s community can be structured based on the charter. “We cannot move the world in these difficult times,” said Offman, “but we can make it more peaceful in Munich.”