Antonio Rüdiger: “I will not allow myself to be denigrated as an Islamist”

Football Antonio Rüdiger

“I will not allow myself to be denigrated as an Islamist”

As of: 1:22 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes

After a controversial gesture – Rüdiger distances himself from the accusation of Islamism

After the Islamism allegations against Antonio Rüdiger, the national player has now reacted: “I firmly distance myself from any kind of extremism.” The debate was triggered by an Instagram post in which he pointed an index finger upwards.

You can listen to our WELT podcasts here

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.

After an Instagram post about Ramadan, Antonio Rüdiger feels slandered. The national player is taking legal action against Julian Reichelt with the DFB. Now he is taking his own stand on the allegations.

Antonio Rüdiger, 31, has “decisively distanced himself from any kind of extremism and accusations of Islamism” after his much-discussed Instagram post at the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. BILD published a comprehensive statement from the German international in the service of Real Madrid, who commented for the first time on the photo that he had already published on his account on March 11th. In the post, the practicing Muslim posted a photo of himself in a white robe on a prayer mat. The index finger of his right hand points to the sky. “May the Almighty accept our fasting and our prayers,” wrote Rüdiger as a greeting to Ramadan.

Here you will find content from Instagram

In order to display embedded content, your revocable consent to the transmission and processing of personal data is necessary, as the providers of the embedded content require this consent as third party providers [In diesem Zusammenhang können auch Nutzungsprofile (u.a. auf Basis von Cookie-IDs) gebildet und angereichert werden, auch außerhalb des EWR]. By setting the switch to “on”, you agree to this (revocable at any time). This also includes your consent to the transfer of certain personal data to third countries, including the USA, in accordance with Art. 49 (1) (a) GDPR. You can find more information about this. You can revoke your consent at any time using the switch and privacy at the bottom of the page.

Now he explained in writing: “The gesture I used is the so-called tawheed finger. In Islam, this is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God. The gesture is widespread among Muslims all over the world and has only been classified as unproblematic by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in the last few days.” In the last few days, the photo has been “used by individuals to make unfounded accusations,” the professional wrote. He was probably also referring to Julian Reichelt, the former BILD editor-in-chief.

Rüdiger and DFB file a criminal complaint

In Reichelt’s opinion, Rüdiger made an Islamist gesture by raising his index finger. Reichelt’s criticism led to Rüdiger filing a criminal complaint against him with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, and the German Football Association (DFB) also reported the matter to the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) of the Frankfurt/Main Public Prosecutor’s Office.

also read

“Violence and terrorism are absolutely unacceptable. “I stand for peace and tolerance,” Rüdiger now wrote: “Respect and tolerance are fundamental principles that we all represent in our family.”

also read

But he also recognizes that “due to insufficient attention, I gave third parties the chance to deliberately misinterpret my posting in order to divide and polarize,” emphasized Rüdiger: “But I will not offer a platform for division and radicalization, therefore I have decided to make a clear statement after our two successful international matches.” He will not allow himself to be “denigrated as an Islamist” and is therefore taking legal action: “This is about creating an atmosphere and dividing people; I will always resolutely defend myself against this.”