Retired pastor burns himself alive to protest spread of Islam

Thursday, November 9, 2006

A 73-year old retired pastor, Reverend Roland Weisselberg, burned himself alive during Reformation Day services on Tuesday]in Erfurt, Germany. His self-immolation was apparently in protest against the spread of Islam, which he felt the Protestant church should take more seriously.

His last words were "Jesus and Oskar,", believed to a reference to Oskar Bruesewitz, a priest who burned himself alive to protest the Communist government of East Germany. He was transported to a burns unit in Halle but died en route.

Rev. Weisselberg had lived under Communism in East Germany, and had been a publisher in his former vocation.

Axel Noack, Bishop of Saxony, said that he was shocked at Rev. Weisselberg's self-immolation, stressing that Christians could not accept a "clash of cultures". He confessed that the issue of Islam had been sidelined within the Church and was only spoken about in private. There were few Muslims there with whom they could engage in dialogue, Noack said.

Sources

"Retired pastor burns himself in Islam protest" — Spero News, November 2, 2006
"Retired minister dies after setting himself on fire over Islam, church official says" — International Herald Tribune, November 1, 2006

Share this:

This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.

Articles presented on Wikinews reflect the specific time at which they were written and published, and do not attempt to encompass events or knowledge which occur or become known after their publication.

Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.

Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.

Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.