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The Week in Germany: Current Affairs

September 8, 2006

Remembering September 11: Berlin Muslims and German New Yorkers to Pray for the Victims and Peace in Special Services

At the St. Paul’s Church in New York, just a few blocks from the former World Trade Center, the German Evangelical Church will hold a special service in memory of the attacks that took place five years ago. The German public television station ZDF will broadcast the service in Germany.

“The consequences of this day still have an impact on our everyday existence and will for a long time to come. But we cannot let fear and worry rule our lives. We must learn to live with them, and to live sensibly and happily,” said a representative of the Evangelical Church in Germany, describing the service.

Pastor Wilfried Wassermann will address overcoming trauma and fear while remembering the victims in Sunday’s service. The worship and memorial will also be accompanied by song from the Harlem Gospel Singers, Christine Reber of the Metropolitan Opera, and the choir of the German School of New York.

Friday Prayers Planned by Muslims in Berlin

At 40 Berlin mosques, imams are to lead prayers this Friday for the victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Günter Piening, the state of Berlin's commissioner for ethnic minorities, called the coordinated event a “milestone that shows just how much the social and political engagement of the Islamic communities has grown.” He said that the city’s Muslim groups had taken the initiative in planning the prayers, which will be the first time that the Islamic communities join together in such a broad concerted effort to send a sign of understanding and cooperation.

The Friday prayers will be coordinated by the Islamforum Berlin, which was created by Piening and the Muslim Academy in Germany to facilitate dialogue and cooperation among city officials and representatives of local Muslim groups.

The prayers "for peace and responsibility" will remember about 3,000 people killed in the suicide plane attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the four plane crashes and are expected to be attended by some 10,000 Moslems.

Berlin not only has a sizeable ethnic Turkish community, but also many Arab residents. According to the Berlin Statistics Office, nearly 215,000 Berliners are members of Islamic groups (2005).

Six mosques will also invite non-Muslims to pray, and all of the sermons will be conducted in German or translated into German..

dpa,TWIG

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