News
Citing doubts about a mandate for military deployment and the prospects for success, the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) voiced its opposition to the deployment of federal armed forces against the terrorist militia group that identifies itself as Islamic State.
On 3 December, the chair of the EKD Council, Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, warned against placing too much confidence in the possibility of military intervention. “If I were convinced that taking these measures in Syria and Iraq would silence the weapons of the parties to the civil war and of the gangs of murderers belonging to IS and would dry up the breeding grounds of terrorism, then I would support them”, said Bedford-Strohm, regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Bavaria at an EKD event in Berlin.
The regional bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hannover, Ralf Meister, also argued against German participation in the operations against IS. During a radio interview, the theologian said that he regarded the decision “with great skepticism” because military confrontation was one of the primary objectives of the terrorists.
The EKD representative for peace issues, Renke Brahms, had already warned on 2 December against the deployment of federal troops in Syria.
The Reformed Church president, Martin Heimbacher, on the other hand, described a German military intervention in Syria as a “responsible Christian position” but added that at the same time it was necessary to work toward a just peace using all available political and civil means.
Related links (in German):
Die EKD sieht einen Syrien-Einsatz der Bundeswehr skeptisch
Die Kriterien für einen Einsatz sind nicht erfüllt
Krieg gegen den Terrorismus? Die militärische Logik ist keine Option!
