The supreme body of the German justice authorized Wednesday evening under condition the reopening of the places of worship in spite of the new coronavirus, thus calling into question the restrictions put in place by the authorities.
Read also: From one region to another, Germany hesitates and seeks the right formula
The Federal Constitutional Court was seized of the case of a Muslim association in northern Germany which challenged the ban on Friday prayers in a mosque in the middle of Ramadan by the local authorities in Lower Saxony. The supreme judges agreed with him and reversed a decision of an administrative court which was based on the legislation in place prohibiting the gatherings, including religious, because of the risks of contamination.
The Court said it could not "understand that it is not possible to reach a positive assessment on a particular case" like this one. Above all, the judges referred the file to the competent court asking it in its new decision to take into account "the intrusion into freedom of religion" , enshrined in the fundamental rights guaranteed by the German Constitution, that "would represent a ban, especially during Friday prayers during the Ramadan fasting month. ” The judges argued that the Muslim association, bringing together 1,300 worshipers, had made proposals aimed at limiting the risks of contamination.
It was planned to organize Friday not a single prayer in the mosque but several during the day and the faithful had to wear protective masks and respect significant distances between them. But that was not enough for the administrative court which was concerned that these precautionary measures could not be observed on the day of Friday prayers. He had associated prayers with concerts or sporting events and had prohibited them. The sanction of the Constitutional Court puts pressure on the German authorities to quickly relax the restrictions linked to the new coronavirus concerning places of worship.
Read also: LIVE - Coronavirus: 427 new deaths in France, 4 regions account for 72% of hospitalized cases
Different religions are complaining more and more and on Thursday Chancellor Angela Merkel must meet the presidents of the German regions, competent in matters of worship, to try to define a common line of action. Already, certain regions little affected by the pandemic, such as Saxony, have authorized religious gatherings and others have planned to do so from mid-May with restrictions mainly relating to the distances to be respected between the faithful and the port of masks.