"Sharia Police in a German District": Cultural Sensitivity, Assessing Intimidating Behaviour, and Interpretin
by Silvia Tellenbach
Question(s) at stake
Whether the evening walk of a group of young men in a German city centre, wearing high-visibility vests with the words "Shariah Police" printed on the back, constitutes a violation of the ban on uniforms, as stipulated in Section 3 of Germany's Assembly Act or Versammlungsgesetz.
Outcome of the ruling
The evening walk in a German city centre by a group of young men wearing high-visibility vests with the words "Shariah Police" printed on the back constitutes a violation of the ban on uniforms (under Section 3 of the Assembly Act or Versammlungsgesetz) because of its potentially intimidating effect on Muslims.
Country:
Official citation
Regional Court Wuppertal, Judgment of 27 May 2019, 26 KLs 20/18 (LG Wuppertal, Urteil vom 27. Mai 2019, 26 KLs 20/18)
Topic(s)
Keywords:
Protection of (public) morals Public order Attire
Tag(s):
Shariah Police Intimidation Uniform ban
Bibliographic information
Access case report
View case report in the CUREDI databaseAbout the authors
Silvia Tellenbach (Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany)
Dr. Dr.h.c. Silvia Tellenbach is the long-time former Head of the Turkey, Iran and Arab States Unit at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law (presently: 'Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law').
Within the CUREDI project, she is using her expertise in criminal law in Germany to identify court decisions, where cultural and religious diversity issues were involved. In addition to writing templates on such cases, she acts as a reviewer and is a member of the CUREDI Editorial Board.