The lecture presents a new paper examining the relationship between German-Iranian university cooperation, (state) antisemitism, and the limits of academic freedom. It first focuses on two Qom-related cases that have recently received a great deal of media attention — the Al-Mustafa Institute Berlin and Al-Mustafa International University, as well as the University of Religions and Denominations (URD) — and asks how antisemitism, Islamist state ideology, and regime entanglements manifest themselves in the academic field. In addition, the presentation reconstructs the intensive phase of German-Iranian university cooperation from 2013 to 2022 from an ideology-critical perspective. It shows how German foreign science policy legitimized these cooperations through expectations of reform, dialogue, and “pre-political spaces”, while repression, structural academic unfreedom, anti-Israel antisemitism, Holocaust denial, and security risks were frequently ignored or relativized. The developments from 2022 to 2026 are also included, as are the currently 63 cooperations listed by the HRK. Normatively, the presentation argues that institutional cooperation with universities of the Islamic Republic of Iran produces symbolic legitimacy for an antisemitic and repressive regime and cannot be convincingly justified by academic freedom. Instead, support should be focused on independent, dissident, endangered, or exiled Iranian scholars and students.

Der Vortrag präsentiert eine neue Arbeit, die das das Verhältnis zwischen deutsch-iranischen Hochschulkooperationen, (staatlichem) Antisemitismus und den Grenzen der Wissenschaftsfreiheit untersucht. Im Fokus stehen zuerst zwei Qom-bezogene, zuletzt medial besonders aufgegriffene Fälle — das Al-Mustafa-Institut Berlin mit der Al-Mustafa International University sowie die University of Religions and Denominations (URD) — und die Frage, wie sich Antisemitismus, islamistische Staatsideologie und Regimeverflechtungen im akademischen Feld manifestieren. Darüber hinaus wird die intensive Phase deutsch-iranischer Hochschulkooperationen von 2013 bis 2022 ideologiekritisch rekonstruiert. Der Vortrag zeigt, wie deutsche Außenwissenschaftspolitik diese Kooperationen mit Erwartungen an Reform, Dialog und „vorpolitische Räume“ legitimierte, während Repressionen, strukturelle akademische Unfreiheit, antiisraelischer Antisemitismus, Holocaustleugnung und Sicherheitsrisiken vielfach ignoriert oder relativiert wurden. Einbezogen werden zudem die Entwicklungen von 2022 bis 2026 sowie die derzeit 63 von der HRK gelisteten Kooperationen. Normativ argumentiert der Vortrag, dass institutionelle Kooperationen mit Hochschulen der Islamischen Republik Iran symbolische Legitimität für ein antisemitisches und repressives Regime erzeugen und nicht überzeugend mit Wissenschaftsfreiheit zu rechtfertigen sind. Stattdessen sollte Unterstützung auf unabhängige, dissidente, gefährdete oder exilierte iranische WissenschaftlerInnen und Studierende konzentriert werden.

Zur Konferenz siehe hier. Aus der offiziellen Ankündigung:

"CONFERENCE RESCHEDULED TO TUESDAY, JULY 7 – THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2026

Contemporary Antisemitism is the largest annual academic conference on contemporary antisemitism, with a turnout anticipated for Contemporary Antisemitism Haifa 2026 of some 300 presenters from over 20 countries. The conference will take place on Tuesday-Thursday, July 7-9, 2026, at the University of Haifa and is likely to be the largest international academic conference in Israel this academic year.

[...]

About Contemporary Antisemitism Haifa 2026

The conference will be co-hosted by the Elizabeth and Tony Comper Center for the Study of Antisemitism and Racism at the University of Haifa, the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism, and the Center for Holocaust Studies and Human Rights at Gratz College and the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University. The 2026 conference builds on Contemporary Antisemitism London 2025. Looking ahead, Contemporary Antisemitism Philadelphia 2027 will be hosted by Gratz College and co-sponsored by the Institute for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism at Indiana University.

These conferences aim to foster a global community of antisemitism scholars, providing a platform for rigorous research, open discussion, and meaningful academic engagement. Our goal is to create an intellectual haven amid an increasingly constrained academic environment. The conference and network will offer a space for open, critical, and respectful dialogue on antisemitism, including within the academy itself, as well as on topics such as Zionism and Israel which are related to antisemitism."