On 8 November, to mark the end of Ramadan, Cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German Bishops’ Conference, issued the traditional message of greetings to the Islamic community in Germany. Lehmann placed the Iraqi conflict at the centre of his remarks. “At the present time our thoughts go with deep concern to people in Iraq, ever more often the victims of bombs, terrorist attacks and other acts of violence. Muslims, just like Christians, are exposed to ever greater risks and suffer from intimidation and threats”, writes Lehmann. “Many people, and mainly Christians in more recent times, see no alternative but to leave their homeland. They thus become homeless and rootless people; families are broken up. Often the violence is perpetrated in the name of God”, points out Cardinal Lehmann, who also expressed his own joy in the fact that “the co-existence between Christians and Muslims in our country has been developed in a peaceful way”. He also re-affirmed the firm intention of the Bishops’ Conference to “deeper and develop dialogue with Muslims and with Islam”.
