Seyran Ateş (born 20 April 1963) is a German lawyer and a Muslim feminist. She founded the Ibn Ruschd-Goethe mosque in 2017, as Germany's first liberal place of worship for Muslims. Ateş is best known for challenging conventional ideas in Islamic teaching by opening a mosque in Berlin which breaks with traditionalist precepts of what being a Muslim means.

Early life

Ateş was born in

Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population over , it is home to 18% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is among the largest cities in Europe and in th ...

, of a Turkish mother and a

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish language ** Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji) **Central Kurdish (Sorani) **Southern Kurdish ** Laki Kurdish *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern ...

father. Her family moved to

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

when she was six years old, during the period of the 1961-1973 West-German recruitment agreement with Turkey (see: . During these 12 years 867,000 Turkish citizens came to West-Germany, of whom 367,000 remained in the country (see:

Turks in Germany Turks in Germany, also referred to as German Turks and Turkish Germans ( or ''Deutschtürken''; , also known as ''Gurbetçiler'' or ''Almancılar''), are ethnic Turkish people living in Germany. These terms are also used to refer to German-born ...

). As she matured Ateş felt increasingly at odds with the rigid expectations within her family. At the age of 17 she left home to avoid an

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of Marriage, marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures, a professional matchmaki ...

. Ateş excelled at school, and went on to study law at the

Free University of 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 ...

Career

While working at a women's centre in 1984, she was shot in the neck by a Turkish nationalist ("his exact motives unclear" even a generation later, according to the ''New York Times''). The client she was counseling was killed by the attacker, and Ateş, during her long recuperation, decided to devote herself even more to helping Turkish-background women achieve their rights in Germany. She has practiced law since 1997, specializing in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

and

family law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

. Translated from Her views, highly critical of an immigrant Muslim society that is often more conservative than its counterpart in Turkey, have put her at risk. Her German-language book, ''Islam needs a sexual revolution'', was scheduled for publication in Germany in 2009. In an interview in January 2008 on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

, Ateş stated that she was in hiding, and would not be working on Muslim women's behalf publicly (including in court), due to the threats against her. In one particular incident, she and her client were attacked by a woman's husband in a German courthouse in front of onlookers who did nothing. Ateş opened the Ibn Ruschd-Goethe mosque in 2017, located in a church. It is the only liberal mosque in Germany, that is, one where men and women pray together, and women can take the role of imam leading a prayer. The Turkish religious authority and the Egyptian Fatwa Council at the

Al-Azhar University The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...

have condemned her project, and she has received death threats. The fatwa encompassed all present and future liberal mosques. According to Ateş, many

liberal Muslims Liberal and progressive ideas within Islam is a range of interpretation of Islamic understanding and practice, ranging from centrist to left-wing perspectives. Some Muslims have created a considerable body of progressive interpretation of I ...

do not come forward due to threats and fear. In May 2018 she became an ambassador for the

registered association A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

intaktiv e.V., which opposes the circumcision of male children. (see Circumcision controversies#Controversy in Germany.) She is a member of the advisory board of the

Institute for Secular Law Institute for Secular Law (German: ''Institut für Weltanschauungsrecht – ifw'') is a non-governmental organisation founded in Oberwesel (Germany) in 2017, that promotes the principles of secularism, separation of state and religion, and the neutr ...

. The 2021 documentary '' Seyran Ateş: Sex, Revolution and Islam'' features her life as a feminist, lawyer and mosque founder. The film qualified for 24 film festivals worldwide and received mostly positive reviews.

Honours

In 2005, she was nominated for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

as part of the project

1000 peacewomen PeaceWomen Across the Globe (PWAG), previously known as 1000 PeaceWomen, is an organization based in Bern, Switzerland that aims to increase the visibility of women promoting peace all over the world. History The organization began in 2003 under ...

. In March 2007 Ates was awarded a prize for defense of human rights by her alma mater. In October 2019 Ates won the University of Oslo's Human Rights Award.

Selected works

*"Bei Trennung: Tod", in: Robertson-von Trotha, Caroline Y. (ed.): ''Tod und Sterben in der Gegenwartsgesellschaft. Eine interdisziplinäre Auseinandersetzung'' (= Kulturwissenschaft interdisziplinär/Interdisciplinary Studies on Culture and Society, Vol. 3), Baden-Baden 2008 *''Große Reise ins Feuer: Die Geschichte einer deutschen Türkin'', Reinbek bei Hamburg 2006 *"Individualität: Ich sein oder Ich haben?", in: ''Flensburger Hefte'', Nr. 87, Flensburg 2005

References

External links

*
Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque
*Documentary
Seyran Ateş: Sex, Revolution and Islam
'' *
Obsessed with Virginity – Female sexuality among western Muslims
', a

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 ...

documentary which contains several interviews with Ateş concerning her life and work. (English with subtitles, 2017) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ates, Seyran 1963 births Living people Female Islamic religious leaders Free University of Berlin alumni German feminists German people of Turkish descent German people of Kurdish descent German women activists German women writers Islam and women Muslim activists Muslim reformers German Muslims Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin Proponents of Islamic feminism Turkish emigrants to Germany Turkish feminists Jurists from Berlin 20th-century German lawyers 21st-century German lawyers 20th-century German women lawyers 21st-century German women lawyers