In mid-November, it became known that forced marriages had been performed in Bern’s House of Religions. But that is no reason for the city council to cut the institution’s subsidies.
According to the municipal council, the service contract with the House of Religions includes services that are provided in the publicly accessible part of the institution. The incidents did not take place in the public domain.
The religious communities located in the building are not covered by the service contract, the city council writes in a response to a small survey published on Thursday.
No reason for sanctions
In the opinion of the city council there is therefore no reason to suspend or terminate the service contract with the House of Religions, as the liberals and young liberals in the city parliament of Bern had argued.
The House of Religions sponsorship quickly took care of the matter and initiated the necessary action, the reply continues. The municipality intends to monitor its implementation.
Imam resigns
The imam of the Muslim Association of Bern and the sponsor of the mosque in the House of Religions, Mustafa Memeti, recently drew conclusions from the incidents and announced his resignation at the end of April.
In mid-November 2022, the Swiss radio and television SRF announced that forced marriages had been performed in the House of Religions in Bern. The imam did not check in all cases whether the basis for a religious marriage was met. He takes responsibility for this “lack of organization,” Memeti wrote in a statement in early January. (SDA/sf)
Source:Blick
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