On 21.12.2018 we wrote an open letter to the Lord Mayor of the City of Bielefeld, Mr Pit Clausen, and to the Stockmeyer-Stiftung:Dear Lord Mayor Clausen,
Dear Sir or Madam,
one could hardly make it up: the chairman of the Bielefeld Merkez Cami-i / Zentral Moschee (DITIB), Mr Adil Önder, posed at the memorial to Alparslan Türkes (evidence see below). Türkes was the founder of the Grey Wolves, an admirer of Hitler, an antisemite and a neo-fascist nationalist.
And what happens two months later? Mr Önder receives the integration prize of the City of Bielefeld. On the face of it, cause for congratulation. But what does the prizewinner actually stand for behind the façade? After brief research: we are appalled!
Have those responsible allowed themselves to be deceived by what may well be a legalistic Islamist? Such people appear harmless, yet pursue their clear religious and political agenda.(c) Facebook page of Adil ÖnderEvidence:
Mosque & Adil Önder
Posed photograph
Alparslan Türkes
Integration prize
Were you aware of this?
If so: how could you regard it as evidently of secondary importance?
If not: will you now withdraw the prize from him?
In the case of the memorial service at Breitscheidplatz in 2016 as well, we pointed out, with considerable press coverage, that the imam appearing at the memorial service should not have been invited (as brief background research would have shown), given his activities and attitudes which stand in contradiction to the free democratic basic order.
In our view it is the task of the state to strengthen those elements of a society which not only clearly profess the free democratic basic order but also live by it. In our view Mr Önder is not among them.
Our background:
Since 2014 the WerteInitiative has established itself as a civil-society Jewish voice in Germany.
It is a non-profit association.
We work to strengthen the values of the free democratic basic order from a
Jewish perspective. We do so by fostering values-based political, social
and media discourse, Jewish civic engagement in Germany and German-Israeli relations. We are active on social media, hold background talks and organise discussion panels as well as political salons.
We point out that we will communicate this letter and your reply publicly, unless you require otherwise. Personal contact details and signatures would be redacted.
Yours sincerely
Dr Elio Adler
Chairman of the BoardBelow is Mayor Clausen’s reply, unsatisfactory in our view, to which we will respond:
__________________________________
Dear Dr Adler,
I have received your open letter of 21.12.2018.
I am the patron of the integration prize, not a member of the jury.
The award honours people who commit themselves in a particularly dedicated, innovative and exemplary way to the integration of people with a migration background in Bielefeld. The jury considered this requirement to be met.
I personally know Mr Önder from several encounters over a number of years. He has always stressed that his engagement crosses party lines. I have never come across any indications of a radical outlook hostile to democracy.
Yours sincerely
Pit Clausen
(Lord Mayor)Dear Lord Mayor Clausen,
we have received your message of 08.01.2019.
Unfortunately, in our view your reply does not address our concerns adequately, which is why we are writing to you again today.
As patron you bear a particular responsibility for your city’s integration prize and can influence the jury should you consider it necessary. Your message makes clear that, even from today’s perspective, you find nothing objectionable about the award of the integration prize to Mr Adil Önder.
In your letter you note that Mr Önder stresses that his engagement crosses party lines and that you can see no indications of radical views on his part. We should like to state our position on this once again: someone who admires a nationalist, antisemite and admirer of Hitler must not be courted, and certainly must not be honoured with a prize. Whatever that person’s background.
In this context we ask you:
What is your view of the fact that Mr Önder had himself photographed at the memorial of the founder of the far-right organisation “Grey Wolves”, Alparslan Türkeş, ? How does this fit with the values that the integration prize stands for? Mr Önder has so far stated publicly that posting the photograph was a mistake. This explanation too is unsatisfactory. If anything, the mistake was to have himself photographed posing at the grave of the extremist Türkeş at all.What is your view of the fact that, in an interview on the occasion of the award ceremony, Mr Önder seated himself symbolically between two Turkish flags (https://www.nrwision.de/mediathek/bielefelder-integrationspreis-2018-preisverleihung-181211/ from minute 10:30) and delivered his statement from there? For someone who has just received the integration prize of a German city and who verbally advocates the separation of politics and religion, that is a rather questionable presentation.The mosque which Mr Önder represents as chairman – the DİTİB Bielefeld Merkez Cami-i / Zentral Moschee Bielefeld – is part of DİTİB. On its executive board, newly elected only last week, DİTİB has representatives of Diyanet, the Turkish religious authority (https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/ditib-143.html). That the Turkish state exerts influence on this mosque through the Turkish state religious authority Diyanet – does that correspond to your understanding of a role model for integration?
With regard to public communication, the same terms apply to our letter as in our first letter.
We look forward to your prompt reply.
Yours sincerely
Dr Elio Adler
Chairman of the WerteInitiativeDear Dr Adler
As patron of the integration prize I had no influence on the selection of the prizewinners. I have met Mr Önder a few times; I have not held political discussions with him. This is precisely what I described in my letter to the WerteInitiative. I did not place myself “behind” Mr Önder, nor did I defend him – that is an interpretation by the media which is not covered by the wording of my statement.
I have noted that Mr Önder has apologised for the photograph at the tomb of Alparslan Türkes. The origins and political convictions of “Facebook friends” are not, to my mind, self-evidently a political statement, nor is a “like” on particular pages.
It is not for me to assess the jury’s decision regarding Mr Önder’s commitment to the city’s community. Nor is that my role as patron.
I therefore ask for your understanding that I will not comment publicly on Mr Önder any further.
Yours sincerely
Pit Clausen
