An Unusual Partnership

Unemployment, poverty, and youth crime – Armenian-born police officer Herbert Czarnyan is very familiar with the local problems in Essen's multicultural district Katernberg, especially that of youth crime.

Fifty percent of youth with a migration background are under the age of twenty one. In addition, many of them still have an undefined residency status. This makes conflicts inevitable.

Because the number of Muslims living in Katernberg is very high, there is a mosque for the Lebanese living there as well as two Turkish mosques. Herbert Czarnyan wanted to use the natural authority of the Muslim religious leader to reduce youth crime in the district. He remembers very well the first time he sought help.

The Lebanese Imam and his community

"It was in 1997. We were having problems with the Lebanese youth at the border of the districts Katernberg-Schönebeck, where many businesses were being vandalized," recounts Herbert Czarnyan.

"At the time we invited the businesspeople to come to the Lebanese café. They were to tell the Lebanese families about the criminal activities their children were pursing in their spare time. The Lebanese Imam of the community was also present. He addressed the parents and told them that their children's behavior was a disgrace for the community, and he demanded a response from the fathers."

The appearance of the Lebanese prayer leader of the mosque "Salahadin" had an impact. More events were held.

Along with talks with at-risk youth and their parents, the mosque offered discussions about career prospects for youth as well as recreational activities. According to the police, the crime rate among Lebanese youth has since dramatically declined.

"Why shouldn't we work with the police?"

A few years later Halit Pismek, Imam of the Turkish Ayasofya mosque, came forward with his support. He is still working together with the Katernberg police. Dutifully, he regularly visits Turkish families and looks after youth who have become delinquent:

"Why shouldn't we work with the police?", asks Pismek. "We are very satisfied. Our major problem was domestic violence and crime, and the members of the community wanted to find a way to solve this problem. Actually, the police offer was perfect for us."

"I spoke with our council, and they immediately accepted it," Pismek goes on to say. "Even eighty to ninety percent of the youth approve of our collaboration. And I always say: "What is forbidden in German law is also prohibited by the Koran.'"

Moral footing in the mosque

An Imam commands the respect of many young Muslims, regardless of whether they regularly go to the mosque or not. An example is 24-year-old Kadin Dogan.

Two years ago he spent a lot of time on the streets with his peers. Today he is studying business management and finds his moral footing in the mosque and by talking with Imam Halit Pismek.

"When you're here, you don't think of doing anything bad. You are among colleagues, you're among intimate friends. If you have a problem, you can talk to the Imam. That's why I feel safe and secure here. The only problem is that we're all lumped together whenever a bunch of foreigners does something wrong. We're not all like that," says Kadin Dogan.

Exemplary collaboration

Meanwhile the youth in Essen-Katernberg understand that there is no more space beyond the reach of the law. When necessary, they can be swiftly apprehended thanks to the cooperation between religious leaders and police investigators.

What Chief Commissioner Frank Matuszek values most of all is that the cooperation with the mosque organization has taught them how to deal with each other:

"We have learned more about each other in this project and have thus been able to dispel a lot of fears. The mosque organization was able to see that police officers are only citizens in uniform and are also family fathers with the same concerns." It was accepted, Matuszek says, that the police have certain tasks, and thus the two sides have grown closer.

As an example of collaboration with religious leaders, the Essen project is exemplary in the Federal Republic of Germany and is being copied and further developed nationwide.

Police officer Herbert Czarnyan often holds lectures about his work in large German cities. Imam Halit Pismek, on the other hand, frequently visits Berlin's troubled district Neukölln to pass on his experiences to his religious colleagues there.

Alexandra Jarecka

© Deutsche Welle/Qantara.de 2007

Translated from the German by Nancy Joyce

Qantara.de

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