” “Germany: the welcome of Catholics” “

“Time for meditation and reflection”: that’s how Ramadan is defined in the message of the Islamic Council of the Federal Republic of Germany, issued on 6 November, on the eve of the beginning of the month of fasting. In a communiqué, Ali Kizilkaya , president of the organization, announced: “In this month we also include in our prayers all those throughout the world who are suffering from hunger, poverty, terror and war”. Time for prayer, but also time for dialogue: citing the custom of inviting non-Moslems to share the “Id al-Fitr”, the end of the fast, Kizilkaya stressed that Ramadan is experienced as a festivity and seen as an “opportunity for interreligious dialogue and greater mutual understanding”. In this same spirit, Cardinal Karl Lehmann , president of the German Episcopal Conference, issued a good-will message on 25 November on the occasion of “Id al-Fitr”, as by now has become the custom “for almost twenty years”. Recalling “the common duty of Christians, Moslems and Jews to foster peace”, which “springs from faith in a single all-merciful God and Creator”, Lehmann declared: “By offering an example of successful co-existence, we together make an important contribution to peace between the religions”. We put some questions to Georg Girschek , coordinator of interreligious dialogue for the archbishopric of Cologne. How is Ramadan being celebrated in Germany? “The Moslems living in our country strictly abide by the obligation to fast, even though this is often hard to reconcile with life in an industrialized country. To explain the sense of Ramadan, many Moslems also refer to the ‘salutary’ dimension of fasting: God does not want to ‘irritate’, or mortify, man by asking him to fast, but to do something good for his health. Islamic law does not consider the changed needs imposed by life in the Western countries; so no specific norms exist for the Moslems living in these countries”. Has the world of work adapted itself to the different hours of work imposed by Ramadan? “I don’t think so. Local industry does not take any consideration at all of the fast observed by Moslem workers. The machines work uninterruptedly, even when Moslems break their fast and eat and drink something. Workers try to solve the problem by reciprocally helping each other, and replacing the person who takes a break”. Is Ramadan an opportunity for sharing and interreligious dialogue in Germany too? “To foster contacts and promote exchange, the major Islamic organizations in the country invite the political, social and religious authorities to a common interruption of the fast of Ramadan. There also exist Catholic communities that invite the Islamic communities during Ramadan or on its conclusion, for moments of sharing. Each year, the archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, sends a message of good will to the Moslems resident in the Cologne area and to the representatives, organizations and media of the Islamic world. Topical issues are often mentioned in the cardinal’s message (last year, for example, the terrorist attacks of 11 September). The solidarity of Moslems and Christians is often a theme in these letters, so too respect for the observance of Moslem fasting in Ramadan”. Mercede Succa