Bekir Altaş, secretary general of the Islamic Association of Millî Görüs had words of praise for the judges of the Federal Constitutional Court: “The trust of Muslims in the constitutional state had time and again been put to the test by judges whose sentences were heavily influenced by political discourse. Good to know there are still instances that act in compliance with the law.

On January 19th, 2021, the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the Wiesbaden administrative court and the Higher Administrative Court of Hesse had infringed the rights of Islamic religious communities concerning Islamic religious education in an “untenable manner”. The case must be re-tried.

“The Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling raises hopes of a necessary correction of the Hesse government’s decision to organize Islamic religious education in public schools without involving the Islamic religious communities”, said Altaş.

The government coalition of the conservative CDU and the Green Party violated the entitlement of Muslim students to
religious education Altaş said. “The State cannot and may not interfere in questions of religious education. Period.”

Islamic religious communities were denied interim legal protection by the Hessian courts showed the influence of political discourse on legal rulings, Altaş continued. “The Federal Constitutional Court’s reprimand could not have been clearer. In their verdict, the judges criticize an ‘incomprehensible interpretation’ as well as an ‘unacceptable’ infringement of the plaintiff’s legal protection.

It is our hope that Hessian judges use their second chance to give a ruling which is in line with the law rather than political discourse. Otherwise they would jeopardize the trust of Muslims in the constitutional state.”