Beer mats designed to teach drinkers about Islam spark criticism in Germany

Cardboard coasters feature different questions about the religion: 'Mohammed, what was he like?' asks one

Colin Drury
Saturday 18 May 2019 18:16 BST
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Beer mats have come under fire
Beer mats have come under fire

A project to promote better understanding of Islam in Germany by printing information about the religion on beer mats has been criticised.

Under the scheme, pubs and restaurants have been provided with specially-created coasters asking questions about Islam. On the flip side of each is a web link and QR code to the answer.

“Mohammed, what was he like?” wonders one in a deliberately informal tone. “What is it with Muslims and pork?” ponders another.

But now, despite the scheme running for three years and being approved by the Germany’s Central Council of Muslims, it has run into controversy.

The Foreigners’ Advisory Council in the central town of Maintal – where the cardboard mats have just been introduced – has said it is an inappropriate way to educate people about a religion which forbids alcohol.

“They could have used postcards, or adverts on the side of a bus. Why did it have to be the pub?” Salih Tasdirek, head of the council, told Der Spiegel magazine.

He also questioned if it was right for the coasters to include a symbol of a cider jug, despite it being a historic emblem for the region.

Orient Network, the small German NGO which runs the project as part of its work promoting interfaith understanding, defended the scheme.

Raban Kluger, from the organisation, said: “We wanted to give answers in local language to the questions that our members, mostly Islamic scholars, are always asked.

“It is not our intention to associate alcohol with Islam.”

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The questions and answers were all drawn up by Muslims and checked by Germany’s Central Council of Muslims, he added, while also saying that tens of thousands of mats had previously been sent out across different areas of Germany with no issues arising.

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