Statement of the Research Center Normative Orders on the proceedings of the conference of the Research Center Global Islam on April 28, 2023

At the conference “Managing Migration, Shaping Plurality”, which was organized by Prof. Susanne Schröter’s Global Islam Research Centre together with the Hertie Foundation, there was a scandal caused by the Mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, when he offensively and repeatedly used a deeply racist expression towards demonstrators (and in the hall) and provoked them with further fatal statements that drew comparisons to the discrimination of Jewish people under National Socialism.

First of all, we would like to point out that Research Centre Normative Orders was neither a co-organizer nor a cooperation partner of this event and had no influence whatsoever on the program.

What happened: The two directors of the center, Prof. Nicole Deitelhoff and Prof. Rainer Forst, did not attend the conference; Ms. Deitelhoff was not on site, Mr. Forst was in the building taking part in an all-day video conference in Edinburgh. Immediately after the incident occurred, he was alerted, informed himself and confronted Mayor Palmer. In consultation with Prof. Schröter, he insisted that his statements could not remain undiscussed or unchallenged and should be discussed at the conference, which would require the involvement of the protesters, with whom he and Rebecca Schmidt, Managing Director of Normative Orders, spoke. After some discussion, this was done, with Mr. Palmer repeating his position and showing disagreement. As a result, some of the conference participants, including Mr Mansour, Mr Ostermann and also the intended moderator of Mr Palmer’s presentation, Mr Gillmann, clearly criticized Mr Palmer and left the room.

Comment: These events are not only unworthy of our university, as President Schleiff states in his statement, but are also a cause for the strongest distancing and criticism, especially in the context of our Center, in front of and on whose premises this unfortunately happened. Since its inception, the Normative Orders have been dedicated to analyzing discriminatory and repressive normative orders, including their discursive forms. Racist speech, including the supposed ‘play’ with it, has no place here.

The research of Prof. Deitelhoff and Prof. Forst in particular contradicts everything we observed yesterday. Prof. Deitelhoff researches the productivity of conflict and dispute in democracy. Prof. Forst’s research on questions of tolerance and justice is particularly concerned with justifying and clarifying the principles of democratic diversity “without fear”, as Adorno put it. The spirit of critical tolerance must not be lacking at a university, but racism lies beyond its boundaries, as does any productive dispute.

We will continue to work with the university to define and implement these boundaries in university practice.

Prof. Dr. Nicole Deitelhoff and Prof. Dr. Rainer Forst