Germany: The Beer Mat Scheme That Went Awry (part 2) – IOTW Report

Germany: The Beer Mat Scheme That Went Awry (part 2)

Jihad Watch: In Germany, some well-meaning souls, members of an interfaith group, Orient Network, eager to spread the ‘truth” about much-misunderstood  Islam to a most unlikely audience, came up with a scheme. They printed questions about Islam, of the Ask-A-Muslim-Anything anodyne variety,  on one side of a beer mat, and on the other side gave an internet link where the answer could be found. They took great care to consult with Muslim scholars, who told them what questions to ask, and where to find the “right” Internet site that would supply the answer. They were careful, too, even to use regional dialects, including slang, in what they wrote on the mats, for easier apprehension by their intended audience of beer-drinkers. They then distributed the beer mats to pubs and restaurants. And ever since 2016 they have been doing this, without any objection from a single Muslim, until just now, when in one small town the local Muslims objected to the use of beer mats to provide information about Islam.
The story is here:
Under the scheme, beer mats are provided to pubs and restaurants with questions about Islam. On the reverse is an internet link to the answers.
“Rather than using formal German, the beer mats are printed in regional dialect for each city, complete with local slang.
“Typical questions include “Mohammed, what was he like?” and “What is it with Muslims and pork?”
“The scheme has run in a number of German cities since it was first launched in 2016, and the beer mats have been translated into three dialects.
But a bid to introduce it in the small central German town of Maintal, close to Frankfurt, has run into opposition from local Muslims, who say beer mats are an inappropriate way to educate people about a religion that forbids alcohol.
“They could have used postcards, or adverts on the side of a bus. Why did it have to be the pub?” Salih Tasdirek, the head of the local foreigners’ advisory council, told Spiegel magazine.
“The local council has defended the scheme. “We wanted to bring big social issues into conversation,” said Verena Strub, the council’s integration officer.
“I can understand if someone associates beer mats with alcohol, but not that anyone would associate Islam with alcohol just because the questions are on beer mats.”

18 Comments on Germany: The Beer Mat Scheme That Went Awry (part 2)

  1. Caroleigh, during college I had a part-time custodial job at my church. The first day, I went into the men’s room and started cleaning. I got to the urinal and saw something on it. I didn’t know what to do, so I just left it. I never asked what it was and no one ever told me I should have cleaned it. I was glad, because the bathroom was grody enough!

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  2. @Caroleigh: “what is a pee screen ??”

    something that biden’s son regularly fails, and what should be given to pelosi
    or, it could be another pee screen- never seen one of them

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  3. Claudia-toby miles- TRF – different Tim –
    I still don’t know what a P screen is, I’ve called my friends and they don’t know either could it be something just in the northern country? Is it a screen like a window screen put over the toilet? Do you sit on it? Or over the ceramic bowl? Oh my God I’m not going to target as a man find out. Hoping somebody can explain! My sincere thanks to those who did try……………………

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  4. Caroleigh, a pee screen sits in a urinal slightly elevated and is basically a coarse screen so you don’t get splashback off the bottom. A pee mat has perforations and sits on the bottom over the drain. Doesn’t really accomplish much but gives you a target and something to read sometimes.

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  5. Different Tim, I think you so much for your time. I do now have some semblance of understanding! My visuals were rather hilarious but you have solved the question. Thank you, and I just hope to God I never seen one!

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