Constantin Schreiber, the news anchor of „Tagesschau,“ has decided to refrain from commenting on Islam.
Journalist and news presenter Schreiber: „I do not want this negativity in my life.“
Foto: Horst Galuschka / IMAGO
Constantin Schreiber has decided to no longer publicly discuss Islam. „I will not comment on anything remotely related to Islam anymore. I will not write books about it, I will decline talk show invitations, I will no longer engage in this,“ he stated in an interview with the weekly newspaper „Die Zeit“.
Schreiber war am 29. August bei einem Auftritt an der Universität Jena von linken Aktivisten eine Torte ins Gesicht gedrückt worden. Ein Video von dem Angriff wurde von einer Gruppe namens Undogmatische Radikale Linke auf deren Account beim Social-Media-Anbieter X (ehemals Twitter) gepostet. Inzwischen wurde der Clip dort gelöscht.
The reading from his latest book „Luck in Misfortune – How I stay optimistic despite bad news“ was organized by the university in cooperation with the Jena University bookstore Thalia. In a statement, the university expressed its opposition to physical attacks: „This form of action only generates attention, but no arguments are exchanged or common solutions developed.“
In the conversation with Giovanni di Lorenzo, editor-in-chief of „Zeit“, Schreiber now criticizes that the university’s response came late, namely „only when the first press inquiries came. Almost two days later.“ He recalls that there was no expression of solidarity from the organizers towards him personally.
After completing his law studies, Constantin Schreiber worked as a journalist for various outlets including a Lebanese daily newspaper, the Arabic program of Deutsche Welle, and an Egyptian television channel. He is the author of several books that deal with Islam, including „Inside Islam – What is Preached in Germany’s Mosques“ (2017) and „Children of the Quran: What Muslim Students Learn“ (2019). In 2021, Schreiber published the novel „The Candidate,“ which tells the story of a Muslim woman aspiring to become Chancellor. The novel, inspired by Michel Houellebecq’s „Submission,“ was referred to as a „hate pamphlet“ by NDR journalist Stefan Buchen in the „taz“ newspaper.
Der »Zeit« gegenüber betonte Schreiber, dass Kritik an seinen Büchern legitim sei. »Aber der Vorwurf, der daraus am Ende wurde, war: Das ist ein Rechter, der ist rechtsextrem, der ist Islamhasser.« Schon vor dem Vorfall in Jena sei er unter anderem von einem Taxifahrer vor seiner Haustür bedroht worden. Da habe er sich gesagt: »Nee, das will ich nicht, ich will diese Negativität in meinem Leben nicht«.
Constantin Schreiber has been working as a spokesperson for the ARD-Aktuell editorial team since 2017. Since 2021, he has also been presenting the main news of the „Tagesschau“ at 8 p.m. He clarified that his decision to remain silent on the topic of Islam in the future is not an admission of having expressed himself ambiguously. He added, „Some may celebrate and perhaps open champagne bottles now, but whether this is a gain for freedom of speech and journalism is another question.“