Germany: Muslim community protests TV show

A Muslim group in Germany announced plans Thursday for a demonstration over an unflattering portrayal of it in a popular television crime series. The Alevi Muslim Community AABF called on its members to stage a peaceful protest in Cologne on Saturday against the "slander and disparagement" contained in a Tatort (Crime Scene) programme aired December 23.


The episode dealt with incest in an Alevi family in Germany and the murder of a daughter who wanted to inform police of the matter.


The Alevi community in Berlin tried to prevent the programme being broadcast on the grounds that it revived age-old prejudices against the Alevis.


It has filed a criminal complaint against the NDR television network which showed the programme, accusing it of incitement to racial hatred.


NDR said in the opening credits to the film that it was a work of fiction that in no way intended to harm religious feelings or rekindle prejudices against the Alevi community. Alevis, considered by some to be a sub-group of Shiite Islam, worship in assembly houses instead of mosques and allow women and men to pray side by side.


Around 20 million Alevis live in Turkey. Under Ottoman rule radical Sunni Muslims accused the Alevis of incest because they included women and children in their religious rituals.

Source: Earth Times (English)

See also: Tatort (German)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

German Comments at http://tatort-fans.de/chronik/tatort-folge-684-wem-ehre-gebuehrt/

Anonymous said...

Since Muslims are responsible for the majority of crime in Germany it seems only fair to depict them as they really are.