A Lebanese Muslim who refused to shake hands was denied German citizenship. Deutsche Welle writes about it.
In 2015, a 40-year-old man refused to shake the hand of a civil servant who was supposed to issue him a certificate of passing a naturalization test. Then the woman canceled the application of the Lebanese. He, in turn, stated that he did not shake her hand because of the promise made to his wife: she allegedly asked him not to shake hands with other women.
The migrant then filed a claim with the Stuttgart Administrative Court, where he was rejected, after which he sent an appeal to a higher authority. However, the administrative court of the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg also refused the Lebanese.
The decision was explained by the fact that “a man who refuses to shake hands with a woman, seeing in her the danger of sexual temptation, proves his inability to integrate into German living conditions.” The court also noted that the handshake is “a non-verbal ritual of greeting and farewell, deeply rooted in the culture of the country.” In addition, the gesture has legal significance, as it symbolizes the conclusion of a contract. Thus, by refusing to shake hands with a civil servant, the migrant violates the equality enshrined in the FRG constitution.
The man came from Lebanon in 2002: at home he studied medicine, and in Germany he got a job as a doctor in a clinic.
