German church under fourth arson attack in weeks

On the night of May 9th, unidentified people set a plastic garbage dumpster on fire. It was the fourth time in two weeks. On April 29th, May 1st and 2nd, rubbish bins were also burning on the parish grounds.

Pastor Rüdiger Kurz reported all attacks to the police. So far, however, nothing has been cleared up. Kurz suspects a group of 20 young people but has no evidence for this, according to press agency IDEA. Kurz notices that only the Abraham church is attacked. "There seems to be an anti-Christian mood among those responsible", Kurz said to IDEA.

The pastor also sees a connection between the incidents and the departure of two senior contact officers from the neighbourhood. According to Kurz, the officers went directly to the families when a young person did something suspicious. "Today, nobody is on site. That causes a negative effect on the neighbourhood."

Pattern

The recent incidents fit in a pattern of previous disturbances. In December, a group of Muslim adolescents disrupted a service when they shouted: "Allahu Akbar" (God is great). A representative of the Bremen Islamic Community called Kurz after the incident and apologised for the incident.

The Abraham Church has 1,400 members. Before the corona pandemic, it had around 100 people attending church services every week. Right now, about forty visitors attend services every week under the Covid measures. The church belongs to a union of theologically conservative Bremen congregations, the "Working Group Missionary Church".