German activists replace city’s ‘Happy Ramadan’ sign with ‘Blessed Lent’ banner

FREIBURG, Germany (LifeSiteNews) — A pro-remigration group has covered up Islamic “Happy Ramadan” lights with a banner reading “Blessed Lent” in the city of Freiburg, Germany.

Activists of the Identitarian movement (IB) carried out the action earlier this week and shared pictures of a banner online reading “Blessed Lent” (“gesegnete Fastenzeit”) with a small golden cross above the caption.

Fastenzeit statt Ramadan!

📍Freiburg https://t.co/k3zBFcKDFL pic.twitter.com/jmomG1ps7K

— Identitäre Bewegung Schwaben (@IBSchwaben_) February 22, 2026

The federal spokesperson for the IB, Maximilian Märkl, shared the photo on X and wrote: “Islam does not belong in Germany! The state is misusing German taxpayers’ money for symbols of subjugation. Not on our watch!”

One day prior, an unknown person cut several cables on a Ramadan lighting set, according to media reports.

The city of Freiburg installed Ramadan lighting in public spaces for the first time this year. Among other things, illuminated signs with the words “Happy Ramadan” and “Ramadan Mubarak” are being displayed.

According to the city, the installation was intended to send a message of religious diversity and “good coexistence” during the Islamic month of daytime fasting. Mayor Martin Horn explained that the aim was to honor religious diversity and take a stand against discrimination. However, the city’s installation features no mention of Lent, which overlaps with the month of Ramadan this year.

Horn reacted to the activist hanging the banner: “We condemn the damage in the strongest possible terms. Such actions are aimed at division, but we will not allow that to happen.”

Speaking on behalf of Freiburg’s four mosque communities, Hüseyin Özbek emphasized: “We Muslims are an integral part of Freiburg.” He said that there is no place for hatred in the city and stressed the importance of respectful coexistence.

Freiburg Catholic priest Father Siegfried Huber commented on the issue: “We strongly support the openness towards all religions that already exists in Freiburg – and we clearly reject actions such as this. As a Christian church, we will not allow anyone to dictate what constitutes Christian faith.”

However, traditional Catholics celebrated the banner action online, congratulating and thanking the IB for its courage.

“There are some devout Catholics and converts in identitarian circles, just as there are people who have not yet found faith,” one Catholic social media user wrote. “Here, Christians are wished a blessed Lent in a friendly manner and with the sign of the cross – regardless of their individual relationship with Christ, there is nothing wrong with this.”