Germany's Largest Islamic Association Poses a Threat to Jews in Germany

by AJC Berlin Director Dr. Remko Leemhuis, Jan 2,2024

"A fish stinks from the head down" is a German saying that could also refer to DITIB (Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs). Although the association is registered in Germany, it is ideologically and organizationally under the control of the Turkish religious authority Diyanet, and thus ultimately to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president who provides protection to Hamas terrorists in his country. Even before October 7, 2023, Erdoğan had made no secret of his hatred of Jews; on the contrary, he uses the state to spread his antisemitic ideology.

This includes Diyanet and its president, Ali Erbas, who said shortly after the Hamas massacres that Israel was "a rusty dagger in the heart of Muslim geography". With key figures like these, it is no wonder that antisemitic views play a central role in DITIB's ideology. Germany's largest Islamic association is a threat to Jews and, with its anti-democratic ideology, also to Kurdish, Alevi, Yazidi, Armenian and queer communities. These groups are also targeted by the Turkish state.

In late December, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser announced that the posting of imams from Turkey to Germany is to be phased out. This is an important first step. However, as long as the training of imams in Germany continues to be organized by DITIB, the influence of the Diyanet, and thus also of the AKP regime, on the imams preaching here will remain. It is equally problematic that DITIB is still allowed to help shape Islam classes in public schools in some federal states.

After the terrorist attack on October 7 and the antisemitic acts here in Germany, it is high time to stop rolling out the red carpet for DITIB and its leadership in Ankara. Anyone who openly incites hatred against Jews and other minorities should not be a point of contact for German politicians and should have no voice in German schools!

This article was first published at Jüdische Allgemeine.