Islamic newspaper

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Islamic Newspaper, subtitle "Independent Forum for Europe"
Islamic Newspaper Logo.png
description Both logos of the Islamic newspaper (website and print)
publishing company IZ Medien GmbH (since 2002, previously Weimar Institute )
Headquarters Berlin
First edition 1995
Frequency of publication per month
Sold edition 6,000 to 8,000 copies
(Status: 2008)
Editor-in-chief Stefan Sulaiman Wilms
editor Andreas Abu Bakr Rieger
Web link www.islamische-zeitung.de
ZDB 2122779-2

The Islamische Zeitung ( IZ ) is a monthly newspaper published in Berlin by IZ Medien GmbH, which appears in the Berlin format. The publication has an associated website .

Foundation and organization

The Islamische Zeitung was founded in 1995 in Weimar by the converted lawyer Andreas Abu Bakr Rieger .

The IZ was published by the Weimar Institute for Spiritual and Contemporary History, founded on May 1st, 1995 . V. , which is assigned to the Murabitun , followers of the Scottish Sheikh Abdulqadir as-Sufi al-Murabit (alias Ian Dallas).

Around the year 2000, Rieger, IZ and the Weimar Institute moved to Potsdam , where the "Muslim Lawyers" organization founded by Rieger in 1998 is based. The Islamic Newspaper, which was previously run as a club newspaper, was supposed to take on a more professional form, and IZ Medien GmbH was founded as the publisher, Rieger is the managing director and which has moved its headquarters to Berlin.

IZ tries to work reasonably professionally “in spite of permanent financial difficulties”. The IZ is not only created in the editorial offices in Berlin, but also when working from home on the desktop.

The newspaper's editor-in-chief is Sulaiman Wilms, with Ali Kocaman as deputy editor-in-chief. Tarek Baé is in charge of online media and marketing. The editor Andreas Abu Bakr Rieger regularly publishes leading articles in the print edition. There is also a lecturer and a sales representative. The content of the Islamische Zeitung is largely designed by freelance authors and volunteers. Articles by over 2,000 authors have now been published in the Islamic newspaper (print and online).

The newspaper has a circulation of 6,000 to 8,000 copies (as of 2008). The figures are based on information provided by the company, the circulation is not recorded by the information community for determining the distribution of advertising media (IVW). The IZ is primarily distributed through around 4,000 subscriptions, partly through direct sales in mosques and at events, as well as at around 500 kiosks across Germany, mostly in station bookshops .

According to its own information, the IZ website has over 400,000 users per month.

Profile and topics

The Islamische Zeitung sees itself as an independent Muslim medium that aims to address both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences. According to its self-portrayal, the Islamische Zeitung would like to build a bridge between Muslims and non-Muslims, provide first-hand information about Islam and Muslims and represent an independent media forum for German-speaking Muslims.

According to its own account, the IZ editorial team attaches great importance to a clear distancing from terrorism and suicide bombings. One pursues an Islamic middle path, which is based on Sunni-Orthodox Islam, and rejects both extremism and esotericism.

The Islamische Zeitung focuses on the topic of economics, including a radical criticism of the financial system. A contemporary transfer of traditional Islamic sciences, such as “Fiqh” or “Tasawwuf”, in the context of time and place plays a kind of overriding role in the selection of topics at the IZ. There is also a relatively harsh rejection of Wahabism, Salafism and nationalism. The treatment of Islam in Europe can be found in every issue and also dominates the website content.

On some topics such as The IZ publishes article collections and dossiers, for example on the refugee question, Goethe, the NSU complex or the fasting month of Ramadan. At the same time, the editors try to publish many articles on “Lifestyle” and thus create a positive Muslim-European identity according to their own understanding.

The Islamische Zeitung publishes in-depth interviews with Muslim and non-Muslim public figures in every issue.

The Islamische Zeitung publishes an electoral compass for federal elections together with the German Muslim League Bonn and the Central Council of Muslims. A number of questions are sent to the major parties that could be of additional relevance to the Muslims. An election recommendation is not made, but the editor-in-chief of the Islamic newspaper Sulaiman Wilms comments on an overall result of the answers. For example, SPD chancellor candidate Martin Schulz and Nicola Beer , general secretary of the FDP, answered the 2017 federal election on behalf of the parties . According to the makers, the AfD did not respond to multiple contact requests.

Content-related fields of activity of the makers

At the invitation of the Consulate General of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2005 in Düsseldorf, Rieger spoke as a representative of the Islamische Zeitung at an event to commemorate the Srebrenica massacre. In the speech a clear rejection of NATO became clear, which he accused of complicity. According to Rieger, the teaching of Srebrenica must result in a turning away from ideology and human contempt. Rieger also made several comparisons between the Holocaust and the genocides during the Balkan Wars. According to Rieger, preventing such crimes is a special responsibility of German Muslims. The reference to the Muslims of the Balkans and other parts of Europe can often be found in Rieger's articles in the Islamische Zeitung.

As a representative of the largest German-Muslim medium, IZ employee Tarek Baé took part in an event of the Salaam-Schalom Initiative , on behalf of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation , against anti-Semitism and anti-Muslimism. The event was reflected in the broadcast Heaven and Earth on Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg (RBB) . He also gives a lecture on Jewish-Muslim history in Europe.

Rieger gave a lecture in May 2016 at the invitation of the Federal Ministry of the Interior as a representative of the Islamische Zeitung at the 28th Christian-Islamic Whitsun Conference, organized by the Evangelical Academy (Villigst), the Bendorfer Forum for ecumenical encounters and interreligious dialogue and by the German Muslim League Bonn, on "Religion in Conflict: Fundamentalization - Globalization - Instrumentalization".

IZ editor-in-chief Sulaiman Wilms gives regular lectures on Islam in Europe and the internal Muslim discourse and has already been invited by the Federal Agency for Civic Education to represent the IZ.

Andreas Abu Bakr Rieger, Sulaiman Wilms and Tarek Baé are regular guests at universities and mosques as lecturers, with the Islamische Zeitung being partly co-organizer. Tarek Baé initiated seminars on media literacy, communication and public relations in numerous mosque communities.

reception

In a study, the philosopher Petra Kuppinger examined the Islamische Zeitung for over three years and came to the conclusion that it was "contrary to the assertion of some of their opponents" a platform that a broad public could participate in. The IZ supports "a high degree and unreservedly participation and commitment in all areas of society and public space." According to Kuppinger, the Islamische Zeitung deserves "respect" because it provides "a better understanding" and "analyzes of questions". According to Kuppinger, “left-wing” and “anti-globalization” positions can be clearly identified in the IZ. This is due to the fact that the newspaper focuses its content on economic debates. Kuppinger sees another focus in strengthening the role of women. Kuppinger went on to say that the IZ is relevant to the development of a German-Muslim identity for its primarily young, academic readership.

In a 2009 study, the social scientist Rahim Hajji compared the reporting of Islamic media in Germany and Great Britain about the "Operation Cast Lead" and used the Islamic newspaper as an example of a German medium, as it was "less religiously centered" and as a "newspaper with an about." to look at the range of topics going out to religion ”. According to Hajji, the differentiating reporting of the IZ can be seen as an “internalization of the German reason of state”.

The political scientist Johannes Kandel assesses the Murabitun movement as a “fundamentalist political sect”: “The Murabitun is basically a modern caliphate movement that combines a mixture of anti-capitalism and clearly anti-Semitic tones. An anti-imperialism that is partly associated with right-wing, including right-wing extremist positions. "One shouldn't be deceived about the profile of the Islamische Zeitung:" This is also reflected in the theses that paper money was invented by Jews. That is a fraud and also a Jewish invention. World finance as the main enemy and one must reintroduce the gold dinar. Much conservative Islamic-Sufi-influenced teaching that is more or less happily packaged journalistically. "

The Islamic official Burhan Kesici , chairman of the Islamic Council, commented on the Islamic newspaper as follows: “What bothered me, it is a medium and at the same time there is a community behind it. We see that this church, that it is a very small group. And they don't care what the majority of parishioners think. "

The journalist Jörg Lau wrote in 2004 about Rieger and the Islamische Zeitung: “His newspaper has been very moderate recently. We maintain a dialogue with well-known figures in public life such as Cem Özdemir, Roger Willemsen and Xavier Naidoo. ”He refers to the extremism expert Claudia Dantschke, who nevertheless considers the Islamische Zeitung to be the camouflage of a subversive Islamist sect.

The journalist Charlotte Wiedemann criticized in an article in the taz that the contributions of the makers of the IZ to the intellectual life of Islam are overlooked by society "in order not to endanger one's own stereotypes".

Before an interview with the Islamic newspaper, the Islamic theologian and ethnologist Martin Mahmud Kellner from the Institute for Islamic Theology at the University of Osnabrück described the quality aspect of the newspaper as "exemplary for Muslims as a whole".

On the occasion of the 200th edition, celebrities like Roger Willemsen , Feridun Zaimoglu and Ilja Trojanow were quoted with benevolent words in the IZ.

Awards

In 2009, the editor Andreas Abu Bakr Rieger was included for the first time in the “List of the 500 Most Influential Muslims” of the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center in Jordan , among other things because of the Islamic newspaper.

In January 2015, Abu Bakr Rieger was awarded the Cojep Prize for 'Intercultural Dialogue', among other things because of his services to the Islamische Zeitung.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. a b c d Media data 2008 of the Islamische Zeitung ( Memento from December 1, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 36 kB) March 2008
  2. Jörg Lau: Christian is now called Abdul , Die Zeit, No. 53, 2004
  3. Jan Ross: "Seriously, the Muslims are here!" Die Zeit, No. 52, 2001
  4. a b Some biographical remarks ( memento of the original from January 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Abu Bakr Rieger website, April 24, 2004 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.abubakrrieger.de
  5. ^ Islamic organizations in Germany Thomas Lemmen. - [Electronic ed.]. - Bonn, 2000. ISBN 3-86077-880-3
  6. Everything you always wanted to know about IZ! ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. IZ.TV interview with the editor Abu Bakr Rieger, December 3, 2010 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.islamische-zeitung.de
  7. Allah's German Children - Realities of Muslim Converts ( RTF ; 76 kB) Gaby Mayr, SWR2, February 21, 2008
  8. ^ On our own behalf: "Producing a newspaper has not gotten cheaper" IZ June 19, 2008
  9. Forum for open words: The Islamische Zeitung ( Memento of the original from October 9, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Thomas Moser, DLF magazine, Deutschlandfunk July 12, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.islamische-zeitung.de
  10. Islamic Newspaper Impressium
  11. Islamische Zeitung edition and author archive
  12. Sales outlets Islamische Zeitung via Google Maps (as of May 2017)
  13. Approved inclusion of media data (as of November 2016)
  14. IZ article from January 20, 2009: "Because what cannot be cannot be"
  15. IZ article from November 7, 2001: "IZ presents concept against terrorism and extremism"
  16. IZ article of October 21, 2005: "Islam and modern politics"
  17. IZ article of August 4, 2009: "Between extremism and esotericism"
  18. ^ Archives of the Islamic newspaper with all articles and editions
  19. ^ Collection of interviews on the IZ website
  20. ^ German-Muslim electoral compass
  21. What Christians, Muslims, Jews say about the election ( Memento from August 25, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
  22. Srebrenica from a European perspective , written lecture by IGBD.
  23. Abu Bakr Rieger on ideological thinking, the Holocaust, political Islam and how Muslims can protect themselves from such tendencies. , Facebook post / quote from a lecture at the University of Aachen 2016.
  24. TV report by the RBB ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / mediathek.rbb-online.de
  25. Event invitation to "Jewish-Muslim history in Europe"
  26. How Christians and Muslims work worldwide  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Event sheet.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.kircheundgesellschaft.de  
  27. ^ VII. Future Forum Islam: Muslims and Politics. Inner-Islamic Controversies - Social Expectations
  28. Between Islam and anti-globalization: cultural, political and religious debates in the German Muslim newspaper Islamische Zeitung ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / link.springer.com
  29. Operation “Cast Lead” in Islamic newspapers in Germany and Great Britain. By Rahim Hajji
  30. http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/islamische-zeitung-murabitun-bewegung-und-goethe-als-moslem.886.de.html?dram:article_id=323452
  31. http://www.deutschlandfunk.de/islamische-zeitung-murabitun-bewegung-und-goethe-als-moslem.886.de.html?dram:article_id=323452
  32. ^ German Islam: Pothole by Charlotte Wiedemann On converts, exchange rates and forgotten contemporary history
  33. http://madrasah.de/uber-uns/unser-team/kellner
  34. German Islam: The Month of Mercy: Conversation with Dr. Mahmud Kellner on the spiritual meaning of Ramadan
  35. Authorized citations in the 200th issue of the Islamic Newspaper (February 2012)
  36. John Esposito and Ibrahim Kalin: The 500 most influential Muslims 2009 (PDF), p. 142.
  37. Website of the organization ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.cojep.com