Antonio Rüdigerdefender of Real Madrid and the German team, defended himself this Wednesday against the accusation presented by a journalist for a photo of him published on social networks. Julian Reichelt linked a gesture of the footballer with the “finger of ISIS”. Faced with this accusation, Rüdiger counterattacked with a legal complaint, while the German Football Federation accompanied him and filed another lawsuit in court against the press man.
After the commotion, the athlete spoke with the sports newspaper Bild and admitted part of his responsibility: “I recognize that due to insufficient attention, I gave third parties the opportunity to deliberately misinterpret my post to divide and polarize.”noted the former Chelsea and Stuttgart man.
“The gesture I used is called finger tawhid.”Rüdiger explained. And he continued: “In Islam, this It is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God. The gesture is widespread among Muslims around the world and only in recent days has the Federal Ministry of the Interior has classified it as not problematic“, accurate.
Rüdiger’s post that generated controversy
In addition, he gave details about his view on religion: “As a devout Muslim, I practice my faith, but I firmly distance myself from any type of extremism and accusations of Islamism. Violence and terrorism are absolutely unacceptable. I defend peace and tolerance”. He also said that in his closest nucleus there are not only Muslims: “Many of my family members belong to different religions. However, we respect each other and celebrate religious holidays together. “Respect and tolerance are fundamental principles that we all represent in our family.”
Rüdiger attempted a self-criticism: “However, I also recognize that due to insufficient attention, I gave third parties the opportunity to deliberately misinterpret my post to divide and polarize. But I am not going to offer a platform for division and radicalization, which is why I have 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 denigrated as an Islamist. That’s why I decided to make this statement.”he explained.
The German national team footballer assured that the complaint against him “it is about propaganda and division”. And he promised: “I will always defend myself resolutely against this. I hope this clarification helps clear up misunderstandings and bring the truth to light. I also want to thank the DFB [la federación alemana]who supported me at all times in this matter”.
The gesture and the complaints
Rüdiger had published on the social network Instagram an image of him in which he was seen making a gesture with the fingerthat the German journalist Julian Reichelt linked to the greeting of the terrorist group ISIS. This situation caused the German footballer to denounce the journalist for making his own interpretation of the gesture, a demand that the German Football Federation (DFB) also joined.
Rüdiger filed a complaint with a Berlin prosecutor’s office for “insult, slander, inflammatory insult and sedition”. The Real Madrid defender, dressed in white and pointing upward with the index finger of his right hand, greeted like this at the beginning of Ramadan and in his post he was accompanied by a phrase: “May the Almighty accept our fasting and our prayers”. The DFB (German Football Federation) also filed a complaint and described Reichelt’s tweet to the prosecutor’s office as “hate speech”.
The reaction to this post by Rüdiger is what sparked the scandal, after Reichelt gave his explanation of the case: “For all those who do not want to recognize Antonio Rüdiger’s Islamist greeting as an Islamist greeting: The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution calls this gesture ‘the finger of ISIS’ and sees in the index finger a clear sign of Islam.”
He “finger of ISIS” It is the gesture used by the militants of the Islamic State as a symbol of their cause. It’s a symbol of power and victory. According to Reichelt, the ISIS finger gesture was adopted by terrorists over the past two decades. It has become indisputably the greeting of ISIS and “of Islamist murderers from around the worldof people who also murdered in Berlin and bring disaster and immeasurable suffering to the world.”
Reichelt, far from retracting, redoubled his accusation against Rüdiger with a publication on his own social networks: “I just found out from the media that Antonio Rüdiger and the DFB denounced me because in an Instagram post I pointed out that Rüdiger showed the greeting of the Islamists. This gesture has been completely co-opted by terrorists during the last two decades. It has become indisputably the greeting of ISIS. Anyone who shows this greeting as an adult and who has liked Islamist posts at least once knows this very well.”