CSD association warns against division and hatred toward Muslims following attack

CSD Association Warns Against Division — Composure Instead of Incitement

Following the attack on the Berlin CSD, candlelight vigils are being held in many cities. Representatives of the queer community are warning against using the act for political purposes. They say they will not allow hatred against Muslims to be stoked.

Following the presumed Islamist attack on the CSD in the German capital, the Berlin CSD Association has warned against instrumentalizing the act against Muslims. Islamist terror must be clearly named without relativization, the board stated. At the same time, however, they said they would oppose "any attempt" to use the act to incite hatred against Muslims and people of certain backgrounds.

The association also called for composure. Such violence, the statement continued, is an attempt to divide society and pit people against one another. "We will not allow that."

Islamic associations condemned the attack and likewise called for solidarity. "When people are targeted with violence because of their identity or way of life, the fundamental values of our coexistence are under attack," declared the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

Should the authorities' suspicion that the attack was Islamist-motivated be confirmed, "this would be another case in which an extremist ideology misuses religious references to justify hatred and violence and to turn people against one another," the organization stated.

Queer Commissioner: No Blanket Suspicion

Alfonso Pantisano, the Berlin Senate's Commissioner for Queer Affairs, expressed similar views on tagesschau24. People must now remain composed and not place "millions of Muslims who practice peace under blanket suspicion." This could only be achieved if politicians looked in the mirror, said Pantisano. Because there is not only a problem with Islamist or other religious fundamentalists, but also voices within democratic parties that do not support the queer community.

Pantisano also criticized Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Rather than "making grand speeches," Merz should instead advocate for the legal equality of queer people, said Pantisano.

"Security Policy Failure by the State"

The Association for Queer Diversity (LSVD) has also accused the federal government of massive failures in protecting the queer community. "We are dealing here with a security policy failure by the state," said Andre Lehmann of the association's national board, speaking to the Evangelical Press Service.

He pointed to the rise in hate crimes and attacks against lesbians, gay men, and other minorities that has been documented for years. Lehmann accused Merz of repeatedly failing to respond to offers of dialogue from the community: "The reality is that same-sex couples can barely walk hand in hand safely on almost any street. This is a nationwide problem," said Lehmann. He said he missed a broader societal outcry. The attack at the Berlin CSD represents only the tip of the iceberg.

Vigils and Demonstrations

Nevertheless, the willingness to remain visible persists — despite fear. "The fear is there, but so is the readiness and the will to continue to be visible," Pantisano emphasized.

In several German cities, spontaneous memorial events, vigils and demonstrations are taking place today, for example in Potsdam, Munich, Bremen, Schwerin and Hanover. Already on Sunday evening, numerous people across Germany had commemorated the victims in Berlin. Vigils and spontaneous demonstrations took place in a number of cities, according to police and CSD associations – from Mainz in Rhineland-Palatinate to Erfurt in Thuringia and Dresden in Saxony.

Suspected Islamist background

On Saturday evening, a driver rammed a van into a crowd of people in Berlin's Tiergarten district near the CSD festival grounds. According to initial investigations, the perpetrator then attacked further passers-by with a bladed or edged weapon, allegedly a machete. One woman died and 29 people were injured, some of them seriously. The 21-year-old suspect was killed on Sunday evening during a police operation at an allotment garden site in Berlin-Spandau.

He was known as an Islamist and had been convicted as such. Among other things, he is alleged to have attempted to join the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS).