German council orders demolition of mosque near Stuttgart – DW – 07/30/2025
The city council of the town of Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg ordered the demolition of a nearly completed mosque.
The council, in a majority vote, said the Cologne-based Islamic association that built the mosque must tear it down by the end of the year at its own expense.
The Association of Islamic Culture Centers (VIKZ) was granted the right to build the Leinfeld-Echterdingen mosque in 2014.
However, the association was told that the building had to be completed within four years, an obligation it failed to fulfill.
When VIKZ exceeded the contractual limit, authorities in Leinfelden-Echterdingen took legal steps to revoke its building permit.
A legal battle ensued, with Germany's Federal Constitutional Court intervening in January 2024 to rule in favor of municipal authorities.
When further talks to resolve the situation remained unsuccessful, the council ordered the building be torn down.
Although the council also voted to help the Islamic association find an alternative site for a new mosque, VIKZ has said it will not tear down the Leinfelden-Echterdingen building.
"We, the Association of Islamic Culture Centers (VIKZ), in accord with our local association in Leinfelden-Echterdingen, cannot consider the demolition of the mosque. We cannot and will not carry out such a demand," a VIKZ spokesman told the local newspaper.
Mayor Otto Ruppaner told the paper that the city was simply enforcing the terms of the original contract and that he was "prepared to take the case to court" if necessary.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
DW
9 hours ago
- DW
Will Germany raise retirement age beyond 67? – DW – 08/01/2025
Germany's old-age pension system faces collapse under the weight of an aging population. The country's new Economy Minister Katherina Reiche wants Germans to work longer to make up for it. For German Economy Minister Katherina Reiche, there's a simple way to fix Germany's pension system: "We need to work more and longer," she flatly told the newspaper in late July, instantly triggering a new debate along familiar lines. Reiche argued that the pledges her government had made in the coalition contract earlier this year were just not going to be enough. Germany's aging population has long been recognized as a problem. The population's median age — 46.7 — is the eighth-highest in the world and the third-highest among major economies, after Japan and Italy. By 2040, fully a quarter of the population is expected to be 67 or older. This year, birth rate fell to its lowest point in 20 years. This has had a marked effect: In the early 1960s, there were still six actively insured workers for every pensioner — that ratio is now 2 to 1 and sinking, and in 2025, two-thirds of the Labor Ministry's budget will go into the pension system: €121 billion ($140 billion). "It cannot be sustainable in the long term for us to work only two-thirds of our adult lives and spend one-third in retirement," said Reiche. "Unfortunately, too many people have been refusing to accept the demographic reality for too long." Reiche's statements triggered a quick backlash from her center-left Cabinet colleagues. Lars Klingbeil, finance minister and leader of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which traditionally sees itself catering to a working-class electorate, described Reiche's statement as a "slap in the face" for many workers. "It's easy to say that when you're sitting in your comfortable chair in Berlin," Klingbeil told news outlet ntv. "But you should go out and talk to the people in the country who are working as roofers, who are working as nurses, who are working as teachers and are really wearing themselves out and who are already struggling to make it to 67." Trade unions, meanwhile, said Reiche's plan was simply a new way to cut pensions. Many workers will be unable to work to a higher age for health reasons, forcing them to retire early, and accept deductions that permanently reduce their pensions. The contract agreed by Germany's two governing parties — Reiche's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the SPD — promised that Germany's current retirement age would not be raised. Instead, the contract pledged, "We want more flexibility in the transition from job to pension." In practice, "flexibility" means offering incentives to people who work beyond the legal retirement age. This would include measures like the so-called "Aktivrente" ("active pension"), by which any income of up to €2,000 per month is tax-free for those above the legal retirement age. Jan Scharpenberg, pensions expert at the financial advice company Finanztip, is convinced that the German pension system urgently needs to be reformed, but that the debate around it has become tedious. "The length of a working life is just one of the levers that can be adjusted to reform the German pension system in order to deal with the demographic transformation," he told DW. "And if I'm being really honest, I think it's a bit exhausting how for years and decades the same pro- and con arguments are being made, but no actual reform is put in place." While he agrees that raising the legal retirement age may become necessary, that doesn't negate the argument that it would, in practical terms, mean pension cuts for some people. "Those two things can be true at the same time, but that shouldn't prevent a pension reform," he said. "A reform of the system will only work if you combine and pull several levers." The retirement age system in Germany is dauntingly complicated. At the moment, the legal retirement age in Germany is 65, though it is scheduled to rise to 67 by 2031. But the age is staggered depending on the individual's year of birth, and how long they have paid into the system. And there are exceptions: People who are disabled or have paid into the system for 45 years, for example, can retire earlier. A contribution of 18.6% of an employee's gross monthly salary goes into the state retirement fund, with the employee and the employer each paying half. The government expects this contribution rate to rise to 22.3% by 2035, where it is supposed to level out until 2045. Johannes Geyer, public economics researcher at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), pointed out that the reason why the retirement age issue is so contentious is because it affects workers differently. "There are lot of people who can't imagine working beyond the age of 67," he said. "But those in perhaps better paid jobs can do that." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video But many experts say the narrow focus on the retirement age is unhelpful, as there are many different ways of increasing contributions to the pension system. One measure, for example, would be to provide better child care facilities, so that more single parents are able to work full-time and therefore pay higher pension contributions. Another solution might be to make migrating to Germany to work easier and more attractive. There are also proposals to increase the number of people paying into the public system by including the self-employed and civil servants, a proposal made recently by Labor Minister Bärbel Bas from the SPD. Meanwhile, on the expense side of the ledger, some more painful measures might be put in place to balance the books. Apart from raising the retirement age, that might mean extending the "waiting time" (the number of years one must pay into the system before one can begin to draw a pension), or reducing the rate at which pensions increase every year. The pension increase is calculated based on the development of gross wages and salaries in Germany and is 3.74% for 2025. In the coalition agreement, the SPD was able to secure the pension level at 48% of the standard pension to the average income (before taxes) until 2031. Critics have labeled this as untenable. According to Scharpenberg, a mix of measures needs to be implemented. But instead, he said, the perennial political debate revolves around doing one measure or another, as if it were impossible to combine them. The German pension system is structured very differently to other European countries. In Denmark, for example, the retirement age is linked to the country's life expectancy, so that it rises automatically as people live longer. And in Sweden, an individual's contributions are invested in various financial markets and then the profits are paid out when that person reaches old age. "That helps to diversify the risk," said Geyer. "They're not so dependent on the aging of their own population." In the German system, on the other hand, contributions from workers are put into a single pot, which is used to finance current pensions. Geyer argues that, unlike other European countries, Germany has failed to develop private insurance options to complement state pensions so that they help the whole population, rather than just the rich. "Other countries have done that significantly better," he said. "The UK, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden — they all have systems of obligatory insurance with relatively low costs and good profits. That's missing here."While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.
DW
9 hours ago
- DW
Recognizing Palestine would deepen French Muslim-Jewish rift – DW – 08/01/2025
President Emmanuel Macron's announced intention to recognize a Palestinian state has sharply divided French politicians. France's Jewish and Muslim communities also fear it could drive them even further apart. Mohammed Iriqat has witnessed first-hand France's shifting stance on the crisis in the Gaza Strip, from the taunts he once received for wearing a kaffiyeh, a scarf symbolizing Palestinian solidarity, to being part of widespread protests as the devastating war in the Palestinian enclave grinds on. Now, the Paris-based Palestinian law student is experiencing yet another shift after President Emmanuel Macron announced on July 24 that France will recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly in September. "It's very symbolic, but ultimately important," Iriqat, 30, said of the statehood recognition, even as he prefers tougher options like boycotts and sanctions against Israel. Still, he added that the move "will build on others for a new era." Iriqat's response echoes the fractured reaction in France to Macron's statehood announcement, which has sharply divided France's political class and deepened tensions between its Jewish and Muslim communities, Western Europe's largest. Both have seen a sharp uptick in attacks since the Israel-Hamas conflict erupted nearly two years ago. Even with a split on the statehood recognition, both faiths also worry their fraying ties may further erode. "The war has ended many relationships, both among leaders and among the population," Gerard Unger, vice president of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF), told DW. "The two sides hardly speak anymore. Each side is aware that if they do, each will declare it's a victim." The CRIF is among those blasting Macron's declaration, alongside French conservative and far-right politicians. In a statement, the Jewish group called it a "moral fault, a diplomatic error and a political danger." To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video "Macron isn't respecting his own engagements," said Unger. He noted that the French president earlier set still-unmet conditions for recognizing Palestinian statehood, including the release of Israeli hostages and the "demilitarization" of Hamas, an Islamist militant group which Israel, the European Union, the United States and others have designated as a terrorist organization. "That explains the Jewish community's anger and disappointment." Other prominent Jewish figures are also sharply critical. "It's an opportunistic decision," lawyer Arno Klarsfeld, son of famous Nazi hunter Serge Klarsfeld, told France's conservative CNews TV. "It cements the divorce with the Jewish community in France, considerably chills relations with Israel and the United States and reinforces Hamas." Not surprisingly, many of France's Muslim leaders and leftist parties have broadly saluted the president's move. "Mr. Macron's decision has been received with great satisfaction and joy," said Abdallah Zekri, vice president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith. "We hope it will translate to reality in September, without any preconditions." Few dispute that Macron's statehood declaration marks a diplomatic U-turn. Two weeks after the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, the French president was in Jerusalem pledging "unconditional support" for Israel, calling for an international coalition to fight Hamas. Last year, he led a ceremony for French victims of the Hamas assault, calling it "the largest antisemitic attack of our century." But Macron reportedly has been shaken by Gaza's escalating humanitarian crisis and Israel's ongoing military campaign. The conflict in Gaza has killed more than 62,000 people, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the enclave, and many currently suffer from widespread famine. In June, France shut down several Israeli weapons stands at the Paris Air Show for refusing to remove attack arms in their display, sparking Israeli fury. Then came Macron's announced intention to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized by saying it "rewards terror." Undeterred, France, along with Saudi Arabia, co-hosted a UN conference in New York on July 28 calling for a two-state solution. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Polls suggest that a majority of French people support the idea. But a June survey from the French Institute of Public Opinion, sponsored by CRIF, shows most first want the remaining Israeli hostages taken during the October 7 attacks freed and Hamas to surrender as conditions. "The majority of French Jews aren't hostile to a two-state solution" under the right conditions, the Jewish council's Unger added. Most also "consider the situation in Gaza with tens of thousands of dead is awful," he said, even as they blame Hamas, not Israel, for the war. Like the CRIF, Pierre Stambul, who heads the small French Jewish Union for Peace, also criticizes Macron's statehood declaration but for different reasons. "It's total hypocrisy," he said. "What France is doing is nothing at all. Many states already recognize the state of Palestine." Rabbi Michel Serfaty, who has worked for years building interfaith ties, was noncommittal about Macron's announcement. "Let's see how our fellow Muslims will react," he said. "What interests many is just to live in peace." Events in the Middle East have long reverberated in France, where many of the country's roughly 500,000 Jews and up to 6 million Muslims hail from similar North African roots. Both Jews and Muslims have seen a spike in physical and verbal assaults since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Unger, of the CRIF, said antisemitic attacks have "multiplied by two or three. Before, they were verbal threats; now, they're physical ones. Rabbis have been attacked." The French Muslim Council's Zekri described a similar uptick. "Personally, I've received slices of ham in my mailbox, threats sent to my home," he said. Many Muslims, he added, also don't report such acts to the police. In the 19th arrondissement of Paris, home to some of the city's biggest Muslim and Jewish populations, many declined to be interviewed. A group of Hassidic men, chatting outside a religious book shop on a sunny afternoon, only acknowledged that relations were complex. "We're not looking for problems," one said. "We try to keep good relations with the Arabs." A few blocks away, Algerian businessman Karim Kata said the two communities "try to avoid politics." "We've known each other for a long time," he added, pointing out Jewish businesses nearby, including a kosher butchery employing Muslim workers. "We respect each other. Politics are politics. People are people." Iriqat, the Paris law student, moved to France four years ago and is no stranger to interfaith tensions. He describes slurs against him in the street and being targeted for joining pro-Palestinian demonstrations, which were initially banned over public order concerns. "It's difficult to hold any sign that tells that you are Palestinian," he recalled of the early protests that initially mainly drew Muslims. "To wear a kaffiyeh, to hold the Palestinian flag — it was very difficult." Soon, however, "we started to see a lot of French, even the Jewish community, the leftist Jews," Iriqat said. "I saw they began to feel sorry about what was happening." Born in the occupied West Bank, he still recalls the day Israeli soldiers shot dead one of his uncles as the man sat studying on the family's rooftop terrace. Iriqat was 4 years old at the time. "I remember every single thing — even the smell of the food my grandmother was cooking," he said. "I remember pieces of my uncle's brain on the stairs of our home." He hopes growing international pressure on Israel will eventually sway its biggest ally, the United States, to follow suit and ultimately destroy a system he describes as apartheid. "I'm dedicating my life to Palestine and the Palestinians," said Iriqat, who plans to remain in France and continue his studies. "When I'm fighting for Palestine," he adds, "I'm also fighting for the interests of the Israelis."
DW
13 hours ago
- DW
EU court questions Italy's 'safe country' list for migrants – DW – 08/01/2025
While ruling Italy's plan to fast-track migrant deportations is legal, the European Court of Justice set out some limits. Those include disclosing sources for their assessment of a country being considered "safe." Judges at the European Union's top court ruled Friday that Italy can fast-track deportations of migrants to countries it designates as "safe" if it meets certain conditions. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) was asked if an accelerated asylum procedure, allowing officials to quickly return migrants from countries not facing war or significant crises, was permissible. EU countries are allowed to designate safe countries of origin to fast-track asylum procedures if authorities disclose the sources for their assessment, the court ruled. "The sources of information on which such a designation is based must be sufficiently accessible, both for the applicant and for the court or tribunal having jurisdiction," the EU's top court wrote. A second condition stipulated by the court is that a state can only be designated as a safe country of origin if it offers adequate protection to the entire population, including minorities. The Luxembourg-based court also said that while having a fast-track procedure does not violate EU law, the designation of safe countries must be subject to judicial scrutiny so migrants can challenge decisions made on their asylum claims. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the ECJ's ruling on the classification of safe countries of origin. She said the decision further restricted the already limited room for manoeuvre of governments. "This is a step that should worry everyone," Meloni said. "The court's decision weakens the policy to combat illegal mass immigration and to protect national borders." Two Bangladeshi nationals, who were rescued at sea last year by the Italian navy, were taken to a detention center in Albania. As Bangladesh is on a list of countries Italy considers safe, their claim for asylum was given a speedy assessment before being rejected. However, an Italian court held last year that migrants from Bangladesh and Egypt could not be immediately returned because those countries are not safe enough. Judges at the Rome District Court, which referred the case to Luxembourg, will have the final say in determining whether the procedure was correctly applied for the two Bangladeshi nationals. The fast-track process and detaining migrants at facilities in Albania were introduced by Meloni's government in an effort to curb the number of migrants entering the country. Both policies have faced intense criticism. Italian courts have ruled against the policies and referred several cases to the EU's top court in Luxembourg for clarification. Opposition politicians argue that the scheme is expensive, complicated, and detrimental to migrants' rights. A non-governmental delegation observing the process in Albania says it illegally deprives migrants of assistance with asylum claims.
