National soccer player Antonio Rüdiger 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. The “Bild” newspaper published a comprehensive statement from the Real Madrid professional on Wednesday evening, who commented for the first time on the photo that he had already published on his account on March 11th. The 31-year-old placed great emphasis on the statement that he clearly distanced himself from Islamist and extremist views.
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.
Not a sign of radicalization per se: that’s how the Office for the Protection of the Constitution sees it. : Image: instagram.com/toniruediger
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 the journalist Julian Reichelt, the former editor-in-chief of “Bild”.
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.
“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.”
Rainer Hermann Published/Updated: Recommendations: 17 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 68 Tobias Rabe, Frankfurt Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 21
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.” The statement goes on to say: “I will not allow myself to be insulted and denigrated as an Islamist,” which is why he is taking legal action against the allegations: “It works here about propaganda and division; I will always resolutely defend myself against this.”
Rüdiger initially did not comment on the topic in the run-up to and during the international match against the Netherlands on Tuesday.
