Germany: Celebrities call for solidarity with journalist Nemi El-Hassan

Cologne - Over 400 celebrities from the media, culture and politics expressed their solidarity with the journalist Nemi El-Hassan in an open letter after the WDR suspended cooperation with her because of her participation in anti-Israel rallies. "Because of her Palestinian origins and her Muslim identity, Nemi El-Hassan becomes the target of hatred and agitation," complained the signatories, who include the sociologist Naika Foroutan , the pianist Igor Levit, the author Jakob Augstein and the journalist Georg Diez.

The moderator's supporters emphasized that El-Hassan had distanced himself from the anti-Semitic Al-Quds demonstration and credibly demonstrated its change. She has also "been committed to anti-Semitism and racism for years".

El-Hassan defends statements about jihad
They appealed to WDR to start working with El-Hassan as planned. “Anything else would be a fatal signal.” Her critics served “prejudices and fears of Islamization and infiltration by Muslims that have been fomented by right-wing populists for many years”.

El-Hassan had reacted to the Islamism and anti-Semitism allegations last week. She also defended her positive definition of jihad, saying that they to draw a picture of her that is not true. Those who only see the fight against unbelievers in jihad do not represent the majority opinion of Islamic scholars in Germany. "In some Arab countries, jihad is a male given name. This is a term that naturally has negative connotations in the German context or in the Western context. "

Source: Junge Freiheit