Saba-Nur Cheema (* 1987) is a German

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and writer. Both in public statements and publications, she has commented on

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

, Jewish-Muslim relations and societies marked by

international migration International migration occurs when people cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum length of the time. Migration occurs for many reasons. Many people leave their home countries in order to look for economic opportunities ...

. Further, she is an advisor of the German Federal Government on

and a columnist on Muslim-Jewish relations in Germany.

Life and career

Cheema is the daughter of Muslim Pakistani parents who came to Germany as refugees. She grew up in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and studied political science, history and economics at the

Goethe University Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

, where she received her diploma degree. Cheema started as a lecturer at the

Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences The Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences (previously known as the Fachhochschule Frankfurt am Main) is a public University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences provides about ...

in the Department of Social Work. From 2015 to 2021 she was Head of the Education Department at the Anne Frank Educational Centre. There, Cheema developed projects for historical and political education to counter

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

ideologies, discrimination and

. Since 2022, she has been a research associate at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the Goethe University Frankfurt. During the 2020 Corona pandemic, she and her team implemented a comprehensive program of digital formats for political education. Since 2021, she has been a research assistant in a project at the Faculty of Education at Goethe University. She has been studying how children in kindergarten and primary school respond to social distinctions with regard to physical characteristics such as skin color, cultural, religious or national differences. In September 2020, Saba-Nur Cheema was appointed as one of several experts by the Federal Minister of the Interior to the Independent Expert Group on Islamophobia, established in response to racist and Islamophobic crimes such as the terrorist

Hanau shootings The Hanau shootings () occurred on 19 February 2020, when nine people were killed and five others wounded in a terrorist shooting spree by a far-right extremist targeting three bars and a kiosk in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. After th ...

. This group consisted of twelve representatives with scientific and practical experience in order to analyse Islamophobic attitudes and hostility. Along with recommendations for action by politicians, public administration and society the group's report was published by the Interior Ministry in June 2023 under the title ''Muslimfeindlichkeit – Eine deutsche Bilanz'' (''Islamophobia - Findings from Germany''). Following a legal ruling about infringements relating to personal information, the Federal Ministry withdrew this report in March 2024. In public debates, Cheema has been present with publications and interviews as an expert on her fields of research and practice, on social developments and current events in Germany. She has described her work as an interpretation of the question of how people want to live together in today's societies. Further, she interprets social unease in Germany and elsewhere as a reflex to

persons of color A person (: people or persons, depending on context) is a being who has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as ...

and people with a background of migration becoming more visible in society. In articles and interviews, Cheema said that the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

is not only part of German, but of human history. According to her, current antisemitic tropes that have existed all over the world and in every community are a challenge for all societies. She sees questions about

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

's right to exist, for example, as part of an antisemitic logic. Even though Islamophobia is directed towards people, who are seen as

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, Cheema does not assess all kinds of criticism towards behaviour based on Islamic rules as forms of Islamophobia. Referring to discussions between critics and defenders of Islamic behaviour, she has criticized a rigid insistence of enemies versus defenders of Islam-related positions. Rather, she advocates a “multiple Islam” and prefers open controversy and debate. On 29 January 2024, Chema and Mendel spoke at the

Freie Universität Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

inaugurating the university's lecture series against antisemitism, racism, and anti-Islamic radicalism. After discussing recent German reactions to the conflict between Israel and Palestinians, both speakers called for a "shared commitment to universal empathy; an agreement to recognize both Israel’s right to exist and the Palestinians’ right to have their own state; an explicit rejection of any and all forms of terror and violence." Cheema is married to Israeli-German educator and writer

Meron Mendel Meron Mendel (; born 1976) is an Israeli-German social scientist, professor, educator, writer and director of the Anne Frank Education Centre in Frankfurt/Main. He became known for his public statements in German news media as an expert on Germa ...

. They live in Frankfurt and have two children. Since July 2021, they have been writing the

op-ed An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page," is a type of written prose commonly found in newspapers, magazines, and online publications. They usually represent a writer's strong and focused opinion on an issue of relevance to a targeted a ...

column ''Muslimisch-jüdisches Abendbrot'' (''Muslim-Jewish dinner'') in the

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

. In 2024 the couple were awarded the

Federal Cross of Merit The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

by the German president.

Selected publications

Books

* with Eva Berendsen and Meron Mendel (eds.), ''Trigger Warnung. Identitätspolitik zwischen Abschottung, Allianzen und Abwehr'', Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2019, . 2021: Schriftenreihe der Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, vol. 10756 * with Meron Mendel and Sina Arnold (eds.): ''Frenemies. Antisemitismus, Rassismus und ihre Kritiker*innen.'' Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2022, . *

Articles

* with H. Julia Ekser. “Who Here Is a Real German?” German Muslim Youths, Othering, and Education. In: James A. Banks (ed.): ''Citizenship Education and Global Migration. Implications for Theory, Research, and Teaching'', American Educational Research Association, Washington, DC 2017, , pp. 161–184 * "Gleichzeitigkeiten: Antimuslimischer Rassismus und islamisierter Antisemitismus – Anforderungen an die Bildungsarbeit." In Meron Mendel, Astrid Messerschmidt (ed.): ''Fragiler Konsens. Antisemitismuskritische Bildung in der Migrationsgesellschaft'', Campus Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2017, , pp. 61–76 * „Das hat doch nichts mit dem Islam zu tun!“. Muslime im Extremismustheater" In Eva Berendsen, Katharina Rhein, Tom Uhlig (Hrsg.): ''Extrem unbrauchbar. Über Gleichsetzungen von links und rechts'', Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin 2019, , pp. 155–168. * * * "(K)Eine Glaubensfrage. Religiöse Vielfalt im pädagogischen Miteinander." In Karim Fereidooni, Stefan E. Hößl (eds.): ''Rassismuskritische Bildungsarbeit. Reflexionen zu Theorie und Praxis'', Wochenschau Verlag, Frankfurt a. M. 2021, , pp. 109–118

References

External links

Official website
(in German)
Video portrait of Saba-Nur Chemma and Meron Mendel
by

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cheema, Saba-Nur 1987 births German political scientists Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Opinion journalists People from Frankfurt Goethe University Frankfurt alumni Living people