The Ramadan greeting of the German football player Antonio Rüdiger caused a controversy
Real Madrid and German national team defender Antonio Rüdiger congratulated his followers on the month of Ramadan and published a picture of himself pointing up to the top of the index finger. Journalist Julian Reichelt considered his gesture to be a sign of a connection with a terrorist organization. The player sued the journalist.
The defender of the Real Madrid club and the German national team, Antonio Rüdiger, became the center of controversy after he congratulated his subscribers on the social network with the arrival of Ramadan, reports Sport24.
Along with his congratulatory words, Rüdiger also published a photo of himself in a long white dress with a finger pointing up. Journalist Julian Reichelt considered this gesture to be a sign of the football player's connection with a terrorist organization .
After the slanderous statements in O AV , Rüdiger Reichelt was insulted, defamed and accused of inciting inter-religious hatred and enmity and filed a lawsuit. The German Football Association supported the athlete.
"On the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan, I published a post. It has been open to the public for 13 days and has attracted several million subscribers without criticism. But in recent days, some people are using this photo to make baseless accusations. The gesture I used refers to the unity and oneness of God in Islam. This gesture is widely accepted among Muslims all over the world, and in the last few days it has been determined by the Ministry of Internal Affairs that it does not cause problems ," the player wrote to Bild.
Rüdiger said that he practices his religion as a Muslim, but that he strictly abstains from any form of extremism. " Violence and terrorism are absolutely unacceptable. I am a supporter of peace and tolerance. My members belong to different religions. However, we respect each other and celebrate religious holidays together. "Respect and tolerance are the main principles that all of us show in our family ," he said .
At the same time, the player admitted that due to lack of attention, he allowed third parties to deliberately misinterpret his message to divide and polarize.
" But I will not provide a platform for division and radicalization, so I decided to make a clear statement after our two successful international matches. At the same time, I will not allow myself to be insulted and humiliated . That's why I decided to file a complaint ," he wrote.
Antonio Rüdiger thanked the German Football Association for always supporting him in this regard.
