My wish for 2010 is that building minarets will not be restricted. The higher they are, the better I am reminded.
They remind me of that which is alien to me. How does it think? How does it act?
They remind me that a famous argument does not count: Minarets (and Mosques) here, no churches there. For us, plurality is a high value. Not so for them.
They remind me that human rights are strongly individualistic and west-oriented. For us, it is a logical, historical development. As for those others with religious orientation, we are lucky if they consider it a potential future value.
They remind me that minarets transfer a 1,500-year-old concept of law into the modern society. For us, this is a totally unacceptable concept. For them, it means security.
They remind me that we, too, had this sort of religiously oriented concept of society and that we overcame it. For us, this is a motivation to argue offensively. For them, it is probably no argument at all.
They remind me that the radical fundamentalists are only a tiny fraction of all the Muslims. Unfortunately, this is not a reason for us to feel safe. After all, it was almost always the radicals who dominated the minorities. The same is true for the others.
They remind me that I am not the only one who sees the minarets. The federal security agencies see them, too. How else would it have been possible that an explosive document like the hatred sermon of Imam Mohammed Fazazi finds its way from the mosque in Hamburg to the public? (Romuald Karmakar shows it with brutal soberness in his film Hamburger Lektionen)
Minarets represent an open show of the other position. Not in some backyard around conspiratorial circles without a place to go. It is hoped that the pride to show the own symbols (as in the minarets) serves to make places of exchange more public.
Thus, for me, minarets do not only represent the open (and also confrontational) exchange between two different cultures. They also represent the wish to show your own position for the improvement of social interaction in general.
What I would wish to see in 2010 is: people showing their colours, intense discussions, struggles – instead of just the usual dawdling around.
SIX
(Translated by EG)
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