Should we tolerate the intolerant?

This session is part of Battle of Ideas Berlin 2026.

Karl Popper’s famous ‘paradox of tolerance’ asked whether a society that tolerates the intolerant ultimately undermines itself. What once seemed a philosophical puzzle now feels practical and urgent.

Some of the biggest dilemmas arise when religious freedom collides with secular norms. Should Germany follow France, Belgium and Austria in banning the burka? Yes, said the ruling CDU at its February party congress, arguing that a ban would send a ‘clear signal in favour of women’s self-determination and against any form of forced veiling’. Ritual slaughter raises similar tensions: permitted only for recognised religious communities under strict conditions, it is nonetheless seen by many as harmful to animals. Yet Europe’s Jewish communities warn that without such exceptions, religious Jewish life in Europe would also become impossible. The same argument resurfaced in 2012, when medical lobbyists pushed to outlaw circumcision, arguing it violated the principle of child welfare. What if tolerance clashes with other values?

Public expressions of faith are equally contested. In 2019, more than 1,000 Muslims gathered for gender-segregated Eid al-Adha prayers in a Berlin park – an event harshly criticised by opponents of Islam as an assertion of power and an abuse of public space. Can religious tolerance extend to some, but not all religions?

Extremism, and the fight against it, has come under similar scrutiny. From Islamism and Islamophobia to far-right marches and environmental protests, calls for zero tolerance now span the spectrum. Should pro-Palestinian marches chanting ‘globalise the intifada’ be permitted when local communities feel threatened? But the state’s own use of pre-emptive power raises its own questions. In April 2024, Berlin police broke up the ‘Palestine Congress’ shortly after it began, citing the risk of illegal slogans being shouted. The Berlin Administrative Court later ruled the dissolution disproportionate and unlawful. Was this an overreach by an anxious state?

What principles should guide us? Should a society tolerate groups that are themselves said to promote intolerance? Is tolerance sacrosanct — or does self-preservation demand that societies tolerate selectively?