German pastor sets himself on fire to protest Islam

ERFURT, Germany — A retired German pastor set himself on fire Oct. 31, apparently killing himself as a protest against what he saw as the increasing influence of Islam in his country.

Roland Weisselberg, 73, entered the grounds of the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt, Germany, Oct. 31 while services were under way and went to a part of the monastery under construction. According to witnesses quoted in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt General Newspaper), he doused himself in flammable liquid, which he then ignited. Witnesses say he exclaimed, "Jesus and Oskar," before igniting himself, a reference to a pastor named Oskar Bruesewitz, who set himself on fire in 1976 in the east German town of Zeitz to protest the policies of the East German government.

Elfriede Begrich, provost of the monastery, said Weisselberg had worried for years about the growing influence of Islam in Germany and had recently written to her to say that he planned to do something more serious about the problem.