German Muslims condemn Cologne attacks, fear consequences

COLOGNE, Germany – Members of Cologne’s large Muslim community have joined the chorus condemning a string of assaults on women on New Year’s Eve that have shocked Germany. But some are also voicing concern that pointing the finger of blame at Muslims in general – and North African immigrants in particular – is unfair when most migrants are law-abiding and the full facts of what happened on the night remain unclear.

In Ehrenfeld, a multi-ethnic neighborhood where streets are lined with colorful Turkish grocery stores and halal butchers, few can believe that those who allegedly carried out the assaults amid the crowds ringing in the New Year may share their religion.

Police said Wednesday 121 women have filed criminal complaints for robbery and sexual assault – including two allegations of rape. They said the attackers were among a group of about 1,000 men described as being of “Arab or North African origin” who gathered in front of Cologne’s main train station and Gothic cathedral that night.

Although there is little solid information so far on who committed the assaults, the incident has put a spotlight on Chancellor Angela Merkel’s welcoming stance toward those fleeing conflict, and has been seized on by Germany’s far right, which opposes most forms of immigration.

“It’s really sad what happened,” said one woman wearing a Muslim headscarf, who only gave her last name, Ozap. She rejected the suggestion by some German politicians that Muslim attitudes toward women might have played a role in the attacks.

“Everywhere it says that this has something to do with Muslims. What I read and learned in the Quran is completely different.

“I’ve been here for 30 years myself and I’ve never seen anything like this,” she added.

Hassan Akdogdu, a 34-year-old businessman and a second-generation Turkish immigrant, agreed. He accused police of not doing enough to prevent the attacks.

“It’s nothing to do with religion,” he said. “Lack of respect for women isn’t a religious problem, as a Muslim I can say that.”

Akdogdu also questioned whether the issue might have triggered greater outrage because of an ongoing debate in Germany over how to integrate the nearly 1.1 million refugees who came to the country last year, many of them Muslims from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Refugees are an important political issue at the moment but I don’t believe, I don’t want to believe, that it was really refugees,” Akdogdu said. “Harassment and suchlike isn’t just something you need to talk about with refugees, but with everyone.”

The assaults have dominated headlines in recent days. German media – initially reluctant to report on the incident last week while many of the details were still hazy – have published grim details and sharp editorials calling for tough justice.

Several media outlets Thursday published an internal report by German police describing how women had to run through mobs of drunken men outside the Cologne train station.

The report compiled by an unidentified senior federal police officer recounts how “several thousand male persons with a migrant background” hurled fireworks and bottles into the crowds of revelers who had gathered in front of Cologne Cathedral to celebrate the new year.

“Women had to literally ‘run the gauntlet’ of very drunk men,” the report said. “In the course of the operation numerous crying and shocked women/girls approached officers and told them of sexual assaults by male migrants/groups. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to identify them anymore.”