Hate letter targets Muslim community in Penzberg

A hate letter targeting Muslims has been sent to the imam and other public figures in Penzberg, BR reported on Thursday. The incident is the latest in a series of anti-Muslim acts in the Upper Bavarian town.

Imam Benjamin Idriz said on Instagram that the anonymous letter had a false return address and contained insults, hatred and incitement against Muslims.

The several-page letter reportedly included caricature-like depictions of Muslims and slogans including “Give Islam no chance” and “Respect for German genetics and culture NSU 2.0.”

Idriz said such incidents must not be dismissed as marginal. “Hatred of Islam and of Muslim women and men is visibly increasing,” he said.

He thanked Penzberg residents for standing together and showing solidarity with their Muslim neighbours in recent weeks. At the same time, he called on democratic political parties to take a clear public position against anti-Muslim racism.

“Anyone who rightly stands up against antisemitism, right-wing extremism and every other form of hostility towards people must oppose hostility towards Islam and Muslims with the same determination,” Idriz said. Hatred must not be taken seriously only after words turned into actions, he added.

The incident follows repeated damage to a sign displaying Muslim prayer times. The sign was installed at a town entrance at the end of July in what Idriz described as a first of its kind in Germany, following dialogue with the Catholic and Protestant churches.

It was repeatedly defaced and covered with the symbol of the right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi group The Third Way. At the end of August, police caught a 23-year-old German-Serb spraying the sign with paint. Criminal investigators are examining whether he was responsible for other similar incidents. They expect results in several weeks and are also checking whether the letter is connected to the vandalism.