---

Der Tagesspiegel, via The Berlin Paper, Germany
Jan. 5, 2007
Claudia Keller
www.theberlinpaper.com

---

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 17066 • Posted: Monday January 8, 2007  

---

Celebrities and thousands of guests expected to attend opening next week; Charlottenburg residents upset

Berlin – The US-based “Church of Scientology” plans to open a large center in Berlin with various of its most prominent celebrity members next week in Charlottenburg, Der Tagesspiegel reports. Area residents are apparently very upset about this because they fear that the group’s adherents will try to convert their children.

The society is renting a 4,000 square meter building on Otto-Suhr-Allee near the Technical University. The opening is expected to attract 5,000-10,000 guests from around Europe. The group has requested that police barricade surrounding streets.

Berlin is said to have 150-200 Scientology members, yet the building fits up to ten times more people. This has outraged locals and some politicians who fear Scientology plans to proselytize in their backyard.

“We think that this new Berlin center will become a meeting point for Scientologists from around Europe,” said Ursula Caberta, who heads a study group on Scientology in the Hamburg city senate.

The group’s Berlin spokesman, Frank Busch, disputes this. He said that the space will be used to fight area drug abuse and violence against young people.

Scientology wants to increase its lobbying power in Europe, where it has opened buildings in London, Madrid, and Brussels over the past six years.

Many Europeans, however, are sceptical of the group, and in Germany, where it is considered to be a cult, the country’s equivalent of the FBI monitors it (except in the city of Berlin).

Some companies in years past even made new employees sign legal documents swearing that they were not members of the group. These measures have to do more with Germany’s aversion to secretive cliques (Neo-Nazis and extremist Muslim groups are also monitored) than to actual religious oppression. Such tactics have led Scientologists to protest. In 2003, for example, American actor and Scientologist Tom Cruise wrote a letter of complaint to the US State Department.

---

What You Can Do From Here

---

Read More Articles On These Topics Categories: Scientology Share, Blog About, Bookmark, or Email This Article Subscribe Religion News Blog RSS feed [What is this?] RSS by topic: Scientology Read Another Article Previous entry: DVD Attempts To Support Scientologists’ Claims Of Harmful Effects Of Psychiatry Next entry: Polygamist Warren Jeff’s Papers Topic of Hearing RNB Homepage with latest headlines Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults Find Related Books Scientology Most Popular Today I know the dark side of Scientology…I almost lost my friend when she became obsessed with it Church of Scientology told to drop Churchill images

---

Share This Article

---

To share this page simply copy and paste one of these URL's:

• Post a link on your blog or website:
  
• Send in an email or IM:
  
• Post on a forum:
  

Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- CounterCultSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.

Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs.

Note: results are listed on another domain -- ApologeticsSearch.com -- from which you can easily return here.