Die muslimische Gemeinde von Emmendingen ist bestürzt. Ihre Moschee wurde mit rechtsextremistischen Symbolen beschmiert. Muslimische Vertreter fordern indes von deutschen Politikern, Islamfeindlichkeit deutlich als Problem zu benennen. Unbekannte haben das Gebäude einer Moschee in Emmendingen bei Freiburg mit Hakenkreuzen und rassistischen Parolen beschmiert. Die Tat hatte sich bereits am Mittwoch ereignet, wie das Polizeipräsidium Freiburg am Freitag mitteilte. Demnach wurden die rechtsextremistischen Schmierereien an der Moschee in der Schwarzwaldstraße gegen 19.30 Uhr entdeckt. Fußläufig seien an einem Kindergarten in der Werkhofstraße weitere vergleichbare Graffitis entdeckt worden. Am Freitagmorgen wurden durch den Hausmeister einer Grundschule in Sexau ebenfalls Schmierereien am Gebäude in Form von Hakenkreuzen und Parolen gemeldet, hieß es weiter. Wer dafür verantwortlich ist, sei noch unklar. Es könne von einem rassistischen Motiv ausgegangen werden, so die Polizei. Zu dem oder den Tätern gebe es bislang keine Spur. Inzwischen hat der Staatsschutz die Ermittlungen aufgenommen. „Wir sind maßlos enttäuscht“ Die Bestürzung über den Vorfall im türkisch-islamischen Kulturverein in Emmendingen sei groß, wie die „Badische Zeitung“ am Freitag berichtete. „Wir sind maßlos enttäuscht“, sagt Schriftführer und Mitglied des türkisch-islamischen Kulturvereins, Ömer Yanik. Das Unsicherheitsgefühl für Muslime verstärke sich seit einigen Jahren, so Yanik. Mit Blick auf den rechtsextremistischen Terroranschlag von Hanau sagte er: „In den letzten Jahren ist zu viel über Kopftuchmädchen und Messermänner debattiert worden. Das, was hier passiert ist, ist ein Produkt davon.“

via trtdeutsch: „Wir sind maßlos enttäuscht“ – Moschee mit Hakenkreuzen beschmiert

Distinguished German scholar Hajo Funke had planned to come to the University to teach two courses on right-wing populism and collective political memory this spring. German political scientist Hajo Funke, the German department’s Max Kade Distinguished Visiting Professor, is unable to enter the United States to teach at the University because the State Department has yet to issue him a visa. Funke is currently co-teaching two classes with Jeffrey Grossman, chair of the German department, on far-right populism from Berlin via videoconference. Funke’s research focuses on political culture in modern Germany and far-right extremism. He is an active public intellectual, and was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit in November for his work. “I know Charlottesville from my last stay as a wonderful and pleasant place and even more so the colleagues and students,” Funke said. His two courses — “Right-Wing Populism and the Far Right” and “Historical-Political Memory” — are dual-listed in both the German and Politics Department. Both are continuing with the help of Grossman and a graduate assistant who will be hired shortly. (…) To date, Funke has not received any further information or explanation from either the State Department or the Consulate. “He hasn’t been given any reason … we suspect it’s because he has a stamp from Iran in his passport,” Grossman said. Funke had recently traveled to Iran to visit his wife’s family and for academic purposes. However, he used the same passport — with the stamp from Iran — to apply for a J-1 Visa in 2018, which was quickly granted to him. He had a two-month tenure as a Research Fellow at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies in Washington, D.C. There, Funke’s research culminated in an article drawing comparisons between the right-wing extremist events that occurred in Charlottesville in August 2017, and Chemnitz, Germany in August 2018. Anti-immigrant backlash was sparked in Chemnitz when an Iraqi and a Syrian asylum seeker were accused of a deadly attack on a German man. Neo-nazi protests broke out in the streets, revealing far-right frustration towards the influx of immigrants that have entered Germany since its borders opened in 2015. His article emphasizes the public and political repercussions of these events and highlights the threat these movements pose to democracy. The article is also highly critical of President Donald Trump’s response to the Unite the Right rally and its welcome reception by extremist leaders, calling it a “vindication.” “The fact that the passport was sent back for three months without further explanation — regardless of further written statements from me — seems inconsistent to me and seems to be an expression of the growing arbitrariness of the institutions concerned,” Funke said. “In any case, this arouses suspicion about the fair treatment I expect.” Grossman speculates that the cause of the visa delay “has to be” the Iranian stamp in his passport, but also raises the concern that it could be due to his research in far-right extremism.

via cavalierdaily: German visiting professor unable to enter the U.S., visa delayed indefinitely