Limits of Tolerance and Liberal Religion

Description

At the IARF Europe and Middle East conference on September 12, 2025, lawyer and liberal mosque founder Seyran Ates delivered a keynote address on the "Limits of Tolerance and Religious Freedom." She argued for a progressive, reform-oriented Islam inspired by Enlightenment values, presenting her Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque in Berlin as a model for gender equality and interfaith dialogue.

Ates expressed grave concern over the growing influence of political Islam in Europe, particularly within German schools. She cited examples of religiously motivated bullying, the imposition of rigid doctrines, and the rejection of democratic values and LGBTQ+ rights by some students.

Calling for a "sexual revolution" within Islam through a modern, historical-critical reading of the Quran, Ates critiqued what she sees as misguided tolerance from some liberal circles. She concluded with a firm assertion that a democratic society must be intolerant of intolerance and actively defend its freedoms against all forms of extremism.