Hamburg State Minister of Social Affairs, Family Affairs, Health and Consumer Protection Dietrich Wersich was among the guests attending the fast-breaking iftar dinner held at the Aqsa Mosque in Hamburg, which is run by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB). In his remarks at the event, Wersich highlighted commonalities between the Islamic and Christian faiths, saying: “There is also fasting in Christianity. Religions are not different from one another in a sense -- and from this perspective I believe that religions bring people together.” He went on to say that integration and harmonization require reciprocity and said that the Hamburg administration would soon initiate a similar project aimed at increasing tolerance and respect.In Berlin, German Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere attended an iftar hosted by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Speaking before the Wednesday night dinner commenced, de Maiziere told the audience -- which included many top CDU figures -- that iftars were a good opportunity to share Ramadan with non-Muslims and remarked that he “appreciated the traditions associated with the month of Ramadan, in which invitations are extended to friends.” Maiziere also spoke out against recent comments by German politicians targeting Muslim immigrants, saying that “not every provocation is worth a response.”
Meanwhile, in Austria, leading figures in the local Muslim community -- including Turks -- were invited to an iftar dinner hosted by the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP). Held at the Vienna Political Academy, top officials from the Vienna state administration and former national ministers were in attendance.
