The administrative court in Ansbach has provisionally confirmed the ban on protest celebrations against the dancing ban in Nuremberg. The public order office had refused to issue the religiously critical Association for Freedom of Mind (bfg) special permits for dance events on the night of Good Friday, but the bfg took action against this with an urgent application, which the court has now rejected.
The applicant “did not credibly demonstrate that her fundamental rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of religion were violated,” said a court spokesman in the justification for the decision German press agency said. In particular, it was not sufficiently explained that the ideological concept, which is necessary for an appeal to the constitutional freedom of religion, is in the foreground.
In addition, the significant number of clubs in which the event was to take place indicated a violation of the principle that no public events should take place on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, the court decided. “The large number of sought-after exceptions undermines the purpose of protecting public holidays, which the Federal Constitutional Court has also recognized as legitimate,” the court spokesman explained. The decision was initially not legally binding. An appeal can be lodged against the decision with the Bavarian Administrative Court. The city of Nuremberg had banned the planned protest celebrations against the dancing ban on Good Friday and other so-called silent days on the grounds that the requests were too general.
Since the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling, “exceptions are possible on Good Friday and all other eight “Silent Days” if festivals and celebrations are an expression of an ideological demarcation from Christian creeds,” emphasized Assunta Tammelleo, chairwoman of the bfg Munich. “This applies to bfg Munich’s events and parties.”
The Association for Freedom of Thought has also called for protests in Munich and Regensburg – a “club revolution” against the ban on dancing on public holidays. According to Assunata Tammelleo, the events were approved there. There will also be a demonstration on Munich’s Königsplatz on Thursday afternoon against the ban on dancing on the “Silent Days” and for the separation of church and state. The motto: “Holy Shit – Let us dance!”