Preacher Pierre Vogel is convinced that the Islamic legal system, the Sharia, is superior to "man-made laws. "If Allah commands that a married adulterer and an adulteress be stoned to death, then it is right that the one who has received this command, like the Prophet Mohammed, that he should do it."
The decisive sentence is spoken by the man with the long white robe and the untrimmed beard after exactly 38 minutes and 50 seconds: "Islam is not compatible with democracy."
Abdur Raheem Green, the preacher's name, looks into the faces of his listeners and is silent for a moment. He has long worked towards this sentence, has defined the concept of democracy as the rule of the people with "man-made laws", Islam, on the other hand, as the unconditional and exclusive submission to the laws of Allah. Now the conclusion that the two can't go together is to settle in the minds of his listeners.
Green is considered one of the world's most prominent preachers of the fundamentalist Salafist movement. He recently spoke to thousands of people in India about the incompatibility of democracy and Islam. Now he wants to convey his views to German Muslims as well: At an appearance on 29. May near Koblenz.
Preacher justifies stoning for adultery
The hall – which it will be, the organizers still keep secret – will probably be full. Green will be joined by Pierre Vogel, who has become something of a superstar in the German Salafist scene as a prayer leader. Like the Tanzanian-born Briton Green, Vogel is also a convert.
The 32-year-old Rhinelander, who occasionally appears under the name Abu Hamza, has fully internalized the basic tenets of Salafist ideology: Allah and the Koran are always right, despite all the cruelty occasionally found there; innovations in Islamic religious history are to be rejected. Too much integration into allegedly corrupt Western society with homosexuals, emancipated women and drugs only harms.
The former boxer conveys more than any other German Salafist preacher what a "right-guided" Muslim should be like. With his red beard and the white robe typical for the scene, he looks almost huggable. He embraces his listeners figuratively and also literally as "my brothers". But when it comes down to it, he can also get loud: "If you, Mrs. Merkel, or you irresponsible people from the Verfangsschutz (…) die today without having accepted Islam (…), then you will go to hell for all eternities afterwards."
Whipping up the masses with "Allahu Akbar
Vogel wants to demonstrate knowledge and superiority. So in his talks, he intersperses recitations from the Koran and Arabic phrases. When he wants to whip up the masses, he also likes to shout a powerful "Allahu Akbar" into the microphone. He is the boy next door, down-to-earth, one who has "learned his religion", but doesn't talk too pompously – one for the common people.
With Abdur Raheem Green, on the other hand, Vogel has invited a fundamentalist for his appearance in Koblenz, whose lectures seem almost philosophical. For the 46-year-old, Islam is more than a question of faith. Green thinks he can prove the existence of Allah. With it he fills world-wide large halls.
Green argues in a fundamentalist way, but also knows how to differentiate within the framework of his radical interpretation of the Koran. Many things in Western countries are compatible with Islam – as he understands it – without any problems. Ultimately, however, there is no doubt that "Muslims must implement Allah's Sharia in their personal lives". Living in a Western state does not make a Muslim an unbeliever, but it does make him a Christian. But to live according to laws that contradict those of the Sharia is a clear sin.
Strict interpretation of the Koran as a provocation
Pierre Vogel likes such both-as-also arguments. Less analytical and coarser in tone than his British brother in spirit, he delights in first provoking with his strict interpretation of the Koran – and then explaining to journalists, politicians and talk show hosts that no one needs to get upset about it.
Stoning for adultery? Of course, after all, these are Allah's laws! But: In the German reality it could not come to it at all. After all, a Sharia court can only exist in an "Islamic" country. Moreover, to carry out the punishment, four witnesses would have to witness the adulterous act with their own eyes. And that – Vogel likes to put on his mischievous smile at this point – is probably rarely the case.
How long Vogel can get away with such windy statements also depends on the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior. Because of the suspicion of anti-trafficking efforts, the authorities are considering banning the group "Invitation to Paradise", which belongs to him. After all: Vogel has always clearly rejected acts of terrorism in Western countries. On the other hand, he is silent or ambiguous about armed "holy war" in Muslim-majority countries such as Afghanistan. By inviting the preacher Abdur Raheem Green, he may be trying to profit from the popularity and analytical acuity of the British fundamentalist.