Berlin – Muslims in Germany have condemned the murder of police officer Rouven L. in the strongest possible terms and expressed their condolences to the family.
“The death of the police officer from #Mannheim makes me very sad and stunned. Anyone who fatally attacks police officers attacks us all and we stand united against them. My thoughts and prayers are now with his family. The perpetrator must be severely punished,” said Aiman Mazyek, the long-standing chairman of the Central Council of Muslims (Zentralrat der Muslime), in a post on X.
The SPD politician Sawsan Chebli wrote:
‚I am shocked by the news of the death of police officer Rouven L., who was stabbed while on duty. My thoughts are with his family and his colleagues. A strict offense against extremism is demanded from all sides. I wonder if we were not strict enough before. If not, why not? As a Muslim, I am in favor of zero tolerance here. Muslims abhor this act just like other people.
“My thoughts are with Rouven L. who was murdered on duty in #Mannheim after protecting the lives of others. Our society must stand together against this violence. As a Muslim, I say: This is not Islam. This is extremism & it must be destroyed,” explained Kassem Taher Saleh, a Green politician of Iraqi origin.
Meine Gedanken sind bei Rouven L., der im Dienst in #Mannheim ermordet wurde, nachdem er das Leben von anderen geschützt hat. Unsere Gesellschaft muss gegen diese Gewalt zusammenstehen. Als Muslim sage ich: Das ist nicht der Islam. Das ist Extremismus & den gilt es zu zerstören.
— Kassem Taher Saleh (@kassem_ts) June 3, 2024
The Turkish community in Austria condemned the act in a statement:
The perpetrator should not and cannot be representative of Muslims in Germany, Austria, the EU etc.. Quite the opposite.
He is a terrorist, a murderer and no matter what nation, religion or denomination he belongs to, he is a disgrace to humanity. The perpetrator has done everything wrong that his religion, Islam, demands of him. He allowed himself to be incited or succumbed to his primitive feelings of a “theology of violence”. “Theology of violence” is not Islam.
The crime was also condemned by Muslims on social media
“The death of the deceased police officer Rouven L. … leaves us all in great sadness. Stunned! I can’t get these images out of my mind. They upset me. They make me angry. They make me sad. As an Afghan community, we are particularly shocked by this cowardly terrorist attack. The background remains criminal and terrorism has no place in our religion, culture and society. The LKA, the police and the courts will find out the background. The attack in Mannheim is a religious, human and legal crime on every level. The death of Rouven L. has hit me very hard. Our thoughts are with the family, friends and colleagues … May God punish this criminal,” wrote Ahmad Popal, a cleric from Munich.
Penzerberg Mosque
Benjamin Idriz, the prominent imam of the Penzerberg Mosque in Munich, also condemned the attack and called on his fellow believers to “take a clear stand against violence, always and everywhere, without any ifs and buts”.
I condemn this attack on him and on innocent people in the strongest possible terms. I wish everyone a speedy recovery. Such acts of violence and aggressive reactions exacerbate the already hardened mood against Islam and make so-called Islam critics and Islam haters look like heroes! I appeal to all Muslims to take a clear and unambiguous stand against violence, always and everywhere. This is the only legitimate response of peaceful Islam. Those who cheer, tolerate, legitimize and use violence must be consistently punished.
Mannheim
The 29-year-old police officer Rouven L. was so seriously injured in a knife attack by a 25-year-old Afghan in Mannheim on Friday that he did not survive the consequences of the attack.
Suleiman A. (25) suddenly attacked participants in a demonstration critical of Islam with a knife on the market square in Mannheim (Baden-Württemberg) and stabbed Rouven L when he intervened.
