Voice against Violence and Intolerance
At the founding event of the Munich “Council of Religions” on July 13, 2016, Mathias Rohe, Director of EZIRE, spoke in his testimonial lecture about how the cohabitation of religions can succeed. He appealed to maintain openness. “The unpleasant truth is that all religions have potential for violence and intolerance”, he said. But common to them all is also humanity. If terror founds upon religion, this is a clear abuse of religion, Rohe said. Also, many conflicts which seems to be religiously motivated have actually political or economic backgrounds. The council is not allowed to be affected by these conflicts. “The Council of Religions in Frankfurt did not succeed.” The Jewish Community in Frankfurt currently suspends its membership under the impression of the Jewish-Palestinian Conflict. Mathias Rohe sees the opportunities to overcome these political obstacles, in particular at local level. “Let us discover the similarities and celebrate”, he appealed. If the council does not lose sight of the religious similarities, his voice could take effect in society, like a “religious motivated ‘We are the people'”.
Munich Jews, Christians, Muslims, Alevi and Buddhists want to cooperate in the “Council of Religions” in the future to set a sign for peace and a good cohabitation in the city and to raise its voice against anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism and xenophobia. The object is to speak with one voice – not only during crisis situations.