German University Hospital Bans Muslim Student Group Over Gender-Segregated Meeting

German University Hospital Bans Muslim Student Group Over Gender-Segregated Meeting
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Charité, Europe’s largest university hospital in Berlin, has banned the MedIslam Collective (MSC), a Muslim student society, from holding events on its premises following a gender-segregated meeting, The Telegraph reported. Photographs and a video circulated in German media showed male and female students seated separately in a lecture hall during an MSC event.

Charité stated the ban aims to maintain a “discrimination-free, integrative and values-based environment.” The university has also removed MSC’s society page from its official website. MSC, which includes Muslim and non-Muslim medical students, organizes various activities such as quizzes, Iftar dinners, and discussions on racism prevention.

This incident echoes a similar event at Kiel University, where a Muslim student group held gender-segregated seating and entrances. In 2017, the London School of Economics faced criticism for gender segregation at an Islamic Society event, which was later deemed likely unlawful under the UK Equality Act.

The far-right Alternative für Germany party criticized the Charité incident as evidence of “Islamification” of universities, framing it as a political issue rather than an academic one.