It all started at the beginning for Ramadan, one of the most important date in Muslim religion. Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger, a devoted Muslim, posted a photo on his Instagram account with a message of pray: ’May the Almighty accept our fasting and prayers’. He did so with pointing the index finger of his right hand towards the sky. And that reaction triggered it all. Former Bild editor-in-chief quickly pointed out that this sign is actually a greeting which ISIS extremists use, effectively accusing the German defender. He soon has filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, and the DFB has also reported the case to the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) of the Frankfurt/Main Public Prosecutor’s Office.Rudiger in Ramadan Season pic.twitter.com/BArJ7RdFwH— Talker Wizzy (@WisdomNze003) March 26, 2024 “For everyone who doesn’t 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 ‘IS finger’ and sees the index finger as a clear sign of Islamism“ Julian Reichelt posted on X. Rudiger filed a complaint ‘because of insult or slander, inflammatory insult and sedition’, and DFB also wrote to Bild. His law firm described their client as ’convinced believer, a peace-loving person who rejects any kind of violence. To interpret the gesture as an “Islamist greeting” is “wrong, shortened and deliberately polarizing.” It is the Tawheed gesture, which essentially means: “There is no God but Allah’. Der erhobene Zeigefinger war vor langer Zeit einmal ein Glaubensbekenntnis. Aber die Welt hat auf blutige, bittere und bestialische Weise gelernt, diese Geste zu fürchten, weil sie Tod und Vernichtung bringt, ein Bekenntnis zum Glauben an den Jihad. #Ruediger #Zeigefinger… pic.twitter.com/UUy2UGBtw6— NIUS (@niusde_) March 27, 2024 The gesture itself does mean just that, ’There is no God but Allah’ but in recent years, it’s been heavily used by Islam terrorists who basically ’took over’ the sign. The point of Bild and other Islamic scholars is that people nowadays have to be careful with this greeting, considering it’s been misused. And Bild journalists also remind the readers that in 2020, Rudiger liked a post with curses against French President Emanuel Macron, who allegedly insulted Islam. Rüdiger later apologized for his like and distanced himself, but after this, the questions are being asked again. Rudiger to donate World Cup money to fund surgeries for children in Sierra LeoneBild even asked the Federal Ministry of the Interior for their explanation. ”From the perspective of the BMI, the so-called ‘tauhid’ finger is to be understood as a confession of faith and is therefore classified as unproblematic with regard to public safety. Showing the so-called ‘tawhid’ finger in certain contexts can be viewed as a sign of Salafist or Islamist radicalization if actors consciously make use of this ambiguity. This depends on the individual case consideration” they wrote in a statement. ##NAJAVA_MECA_7988156##
