Antonio Rudiger hits back at former BILD editor who linked him with terrorists… as the Germany star slams the ‘unfounded accusations’ and calls for ‘peace and tolerance’

Antonio Rudiger has broken his silence after the German star was accused of supporting terrorism.

Earlier this month, Rudiger, a devout Muslim, posted a photo on Instagram of himself in a white robe on a prayer mat, pointing the index finger of his right hand skyward.

The Real Madrid defender accompanied the March 13 post with the caption: ‘Ramadan Mubarak for all Muslims around the world. May the Almighty accept our fasting and prayers #AlwaysBelieve.”

However, on Sunday, former BILD editor Julian Reichelt attacked Rüdiger and accused him of links to terrorism.

He posted on Islamism.’

Rudiger and the German Football Association (DFB) have since announced they are taking legal action against Reichelt following his shocking claims.

And on Wednesday evening, Rudiger – who was part of Germany’s victories against France and the Netherlands last week – spoke about the saga for the first time, hitting back at the ‘unfounded accusations’.

“To mark the beginning of Lent, I posted on Instagram,” he said BIL. ‘It has been publicly viewable for 13 days (since March 11) and has reached several million followers without any criticism from anyone.

“But in recent days the photo has been used by individuals to make baseless accusations.

‘The gesture I used is called the tawheed finger. In Islam, this is considered a symbol of the unity and uniqueness of God. The gesture is widespread among Muslims around the world and has only been classified as unproblematic by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in recent days.

‘As a devout Muslim, I practice my faith, but I firmly distance myself from any form of extremism and accusations of Islamism. Violence and terrorism are absolutely unacceptable. I stand for peace and tolerance.

‘Many of my relatives belong to different religions. Nevertheless, we respect each other and celebrate religious festivals together. Respect and tolerance are fundamental principles that we all represent in our family.’

Rudiger continued to hit back at Reichelt and his supporters, while calling for an end to division in society.

He added: “However, I also recognize that through insufficient attention I have given third parties the opportunity to deliberately misinterpret my message to cause division and polarization.

‘But I do not want to provide a platform for division and radicalization and that is why I have decided to make a clear statement after our two successful international matches.

“At the same time, I will not allow myself to be insulted and denigrated as an Islamist. That’s why I decided to file a report. This is about propaganda and division; I will always defend myself resolutely against this.

‘I hope this clarification helps clear up misunderstandings and brings the truth to light. I would also like to thank the DFB, which has always supported me in this matter.’

Rudiger’s complaint against Reichelt to the Berlin prosecutor’s office came “for insult or slander, seditious insult and sedition,” the complaint said.

The DFB also filed a complaint and reported the Reichelt tweet to the Public Prosecution Service as ‘hate speech’. BILD also received mail from Rudiger’s lawyers.

In a letter to BILD editor-in-chief Marion Horn, they ‘warn’ against ‘inflammatory statements to the detriment of our client’.

However, Reichelt issued a response to X on Monday evening, doubling down on his comments about Rüdiger.

He wrote: ‘This gesture has been completely co-opted by terrorists over the past twenty years. It has undisputedly become the greeting of ISIS and Islamic murderers around the world, of people who also murdered in Berlin and brought disaster and immeasurable suffering to the world.

‘Anyone who poses like this in public is consciously showing the greeting of fanatics and not an innocent, spiritual gesture. It is a normalization of a terrible ideology that has already taken up far too much space in this country.

‘Also and especially because it is a popular national player, you should not be intimidated. It is important to point out that this political ideology goes against everything our values ​​are.

‘The raised index finger of Islamism, with which terrorists all over the world celebrate their murders, does not belong to Germany. I’ll never let anything stop me from saying that.’

When asked about the meaning of the symbol, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior told BILD: ‘From the perspective of the BMI, the so-called ‘tauhid’ finger is to be understood as a declaration of faith and is therefore classified as unproblematic with with relating to public safety.

“This applies regardless of the fact that Islamic groups appropriate and abuse this symbol for their own purposes.”