Rüdiger filed a criminal complaint with the Berlin public prosecutor’s office. The DFB reported the matter to the Central Office for Combating Internet Crime at the Frankfurt Attorney General’s Office.
In his post on March 11, the practicing Muslim Rüdiger, David Alaba’s teammate at Real, posted a photo of himself in a white robe on a prayer mat. The index finger of his right hand points to the sky.
“May the Almighty accept our fasting and our prayers,” wrote Rüdiger as a greeting to Ramadan. In the journalist’s opinion, Rüdiger made an Islamist gesture by raising his index finger.
According to “Bild”, the Federal Ministry of the Interior explained that, from its point of view, the raised finger “should be understood as a confession of faith and should therefore be classified as unproblematic with regard to public safety.
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This applies regardless of the fact that Islamist groups appropriate this symbol and misuse it for their own purposes.
In certain contexts, pointing the finger might be seen as a sign of Salafist or Islamist radicalization if actors consciously use this ambiguity. “This depends on the individual case consideration,” the ministry continued.
