Feminist foreign policy, according to Annalena Baerbock, this is the common thread running through German diplomacy, as reported by the German Welt.

“During our visit to Syria, where Islamists have been in power for four weeks, it became clear how women’s rights are being treated there».

Governor Ahmed al-Sharaa, who until recently was listed as a terrorist in the West, did not greet the foreign minister with a handshake, but extended his hand to her French counterpart Jean-Noël Barrot. Barro returned the gesture – albeit hesitantly. Burbok could only wring her hands and nod.

“As soon as I arrived, it was clear to me that there would obviously be no ordinary handshakes here“, said the politician of the Greens when asked by a journalist. In the video you can see that she doesn’t even try to shake hands. Baerbock goes on to say that it was also made clear to the Islamic hosts that they disapproved of this practice. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot, with whom he traveled to Damascus on behalf of the EU, also did not extend his hand for a handshake.

Above all, it became clear in the conversation that women’s rights are an indicator of how free a society is, Baerbock said. It was heard in delegation circles that al-Sharaa extended his hand again at the end of the conversation, but that there was no longer a handshake.

Baerbock discussed women’s rights in Syria

Burbock said of the visit: “We now need a political dialogue that includes all ethnic and religious groups, including all people, this means especially women in this country“, he said. “Europe will support Syria, but will not become a financier of new Islamist structures”.

The skepticism seems justified to many: Al-Sharaa is the leader of the Islamist rebel group Haiat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was instrumental in toppling longtime leader Bashar al-Assad. He was formerly known by his pen name, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. The HTS group emerged from the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The former head of the Science and Policy Foundation, Volker Perthes, took the rejected handshake as a bad sign. “This is not good, even if we know it from other countries dominated by ultra-conservative Islamists: Iran, for example, and until recently Saudi ArabiaPerthes told Stern. And he added: “In Syria this is not part of the tradition. I hope al-Sharaa will also be criticized for this in Syria.

Is the behavior of the Islamist al-Saraa, who recently started wearing a suit instead of a military uniform, an expression of disrespect for the Green politician and shows his misogyny in general? It’s not that simple: a handshake between a strange man and a strange woman is unusual among believers in Islamic societies – and in the view of some jurists, it is even forbidden. But there is no clear rule and dominant religious custom.