European LGBTQ figures call for open debate on Islamism after Berlin attack

Following the suspected Islamist attack near Berlin Pride, British writer Julie Bindel, German LGBTQ politician René Powilleit and Dutch illusionist Hans Klok called on Europe’s LGBTQ community and politicians to discuss the threat of Islamism openly. Their statements, made between July 26 and 28, were brought together in a July 29 Breitbart report .

The attack took place on the evening of July 25 near Berlin’s Christopher Street Day Pride festival. According to an updated Associated Press report , a Polish woman was killed and 31 other people were injured in a van ramming and subsequent machete attack. The suspect, 21-year-old German citizen Abdul Ballout, was shot dead by police the following day. Investigators found an apparent video in which a person believed to be Ballout announces an intention to carry out an attack and pledges allegiance to the Islamic State group.

René Powilleit, who chairs the Berlin branch of Lesbians and Gays in the Union, an LGBTQ organization within the Christian Democratic Union, wrote in a Euronews opinion article that political Islam is one of the greatest threats to a liberal way of life. He called for criticism of Islamism to be distinguished from hostility toward Muslims, an end to support for Islamist structures and closer monitoring of dangerous individuals.

British feminist and lesbian writer Julie Bindel said the attack should prompt LGBTQ activists and the political left to reconsider their approach to radical Islam. She specifically criticized the Queers for Palestine movement. Hans Klok, an openly gay Dutch illusionist, told broadcaster WNL that he fears an attack at Amsterdam Pride and believes homosexuality is strongly rejected in several cultures represented in the city.

Others in Europe’s LGBTQ community have warned against shifting responsibility from Islamists to Muslims as a whole. Berlin police officer Ali Darwich, who describes himself as gay and Muslim, told AP that he feared the attack would further polarize society and increase racism. Mourners at a Berlin vigil also urged people not to use the crime to generalize about migrants and Muslims.

Following the attack, the LGBTQ association LSVD+ proposed additional security measures for Pride events and other steps to protect LGBTQ people. In Amsterdam, where WorldPride is taking place, authorities and organizers increased security while saying that the measures should not undermine the festival’s open character.