A Lebanese Muslim doctor had been living in Germany for many years. He studied there, became a doctor, and was working as a senior physician in a hospital.
In 2012 he applied for German citizenship. He signed a declaration that he accepted the constitution and rejected extremism. He scored full marks on the citizenship test.
In 2015, when the citizenship certificate was about to be handed over, the female official extended her hand. The doctor refused to shake it. He said that according to his religion he does not shake hands with women and that he had promised his wife he would not touch any other woman.
The official withheld the certificate. The authorities rejected his citizenship application.
The doctor then went to court. The lower court dismissed his petition. In 2020 the higher administrative court also ruled that he would not receive German citizenship.
The court said that shaking hands is a common social custom in Germany, that gender-based discrimination will not be tolerated, and that such a rigid mindset runs counter to integration into German society.
A doctor’s work involves physical examination and treatment. If he will not even touch a woman who is not his wife, how is he supposed to treat a female patient?
In an emergency, would he first check the patient’s gender?
That is the kind of rigid thinking that, even after so much education, still prevents a person from thinking further ahead.