During a reading that was taking place at the University of Jena, Constantin Schreiber was assaulted with a cake. The journalist was accused of harboring anti-Islamic sentiments. Now, during an interview for a publication, he discusses the animosity and threats he has received.
Constantin Schreiber has decided that he does not wish to discuss Islam in any public capacity going forward. I shall refrain from making any more comments on anything that even tangentially relates to Islam from this point on. "I won't write any books about it, I won't do talk shows about it, and I won't do it anymore," he stated in an interview with the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit."
During an event that Schreiber made on August 29 at the University of Jena, left-wing protestors shoved a cake into his face and attempted to eat it. On their profile on the social media platform X (which was formerly known as Twitter), members of a group that calls itself the Undogmatic Radical Left uploaded a video of the incident. Since then, the video clip has been removed from that location.
"Ich werde mich zu allem, was mit dem Islam auch nur im Entferntesten zu tun hat, nicht mehr äußern. Ich werde keine Bücher dazu schreiben, ich lehne Talkshow-Anfragen ab, ich mache das nicht mehr“
so stirbt die freiheit und der westen.https://t.co/k48cyeovuT via @welt— Ulf Poschardt (@ulfposh) September 13, 2023
The university, in conjunction with the Jena campus bookshop Thalia, hosted a reading from his most recent book, which is titled "Luck in Misfortune: How I Stay Optimistic Despite Bad News." The institution issued a statement in which it condemned the use of physical force, saying that "this form of action only creates attention," adding that as a result, "arguments are neither exchanged nor common solutions are developed."
During his discussion with the editor-in-chief of "Zeit," Giovanni di Lorenzo, Schreiber lamented the fact that the university's response had been delayed, stating that it had occurred "only when the first press inquiries came." After nearly two days had passed." He recalls that the organizers did not extend any kind of solidarity to him directly in the form of a statement or gesture.
After completing his legal education, Constantin Schreiber began his career as a journalist, writing for a variety of publications, including a daily newspaper in Lebanon, the Arabic program of Deutsche Welle, and an Egyptian television station, among others. He is the author of various works that deal with Islam, some of which are "Inside Islam - What is preached in Germany's mosques" (2017) and "Children of the Koran. What Muslim students learn" (2019). In the novel "The Candidate," which was written by Schreiber and released in 2021, the main character is a Muslim woman who aspires to be Chancellor. The storyline of the novel is based on Michel Houellebecq's "Submission," and it was dubbed as a "hate pamphlet" by NDR journalist Stefan Buchen in the tab. The novel itself is based on Michel Houellebecq's "Submission."
Schreiber highlighted to "Zeit" that it was appropriate to criticize his novels. "But the accusation that ultimately came from it was: He's a right-winger, he's a right-wing extremist, and he's an Islamophobe." Even before the event in Jena, he had been threatened by a taxi driver on his doorway, among other things. This happened even before the incident in Jena. After that, he had a thought that went something like this: "No, I don't want that. I don't want this negativity in my life."
Since 2017, Constantin Schreiber has been employed by the editorial staff of ARD-Aktuell in the role of spokesman. Additionally, since 2021, he has been reading the major news of the "Tagesschau" at 8 o'clock in the evening. It is not an acknowledgment that he may have made remarks that were deceptive if he only states that he intends to keep his mouth shut in the future about the topic of Islam. "Some people might celebrate now, and maybe open the bubbly bottles," he added. "But others might be concerned." "The question remains as to whether or not this is a victory for the freedom of expression and journalism."