“Muslims in Germany” study- State-propagated racism under the guise of science
Muslims in Germany are completely alienated politically and also have to cope with a racist witch-hunt, which has increased continually ever since the September 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington. Muslims as a whole are routinely associated with the enforced wearing of headscarves, honour killings, arranged marriages and violent criminality.The ruling elite in the worlds of politics, the media and academia are systematically attempting to divert attention away from the social crisis and class tensions, instead expounding on a “war of cultures.” This could be seen in the article by historian Hans-Ulrich Wehler in the Die Zeit newsweekly about a “Turkish problem,” due to the fact that the “Muslim minority has proven itself incapable of assimilation.” Writer Botho Strauß warned in Der Spiegel of the “Islamification of the West” and implicitly called for a crusade and fight against Muslim minorities in Western countries.The study “Muslims in Germany” has now given new impetus to this demagogy. Even though the authors have subsequently called for a more differentiated view to be taken on the results of their study, they are nevertheless directly responsible for the fact that the study has provided new fuel to the likes of Koch and Schäuble. This Muslim-baiting has since been joined by the interior ministers of Lower Saxony, Uwe Schünemann (CDU), and of Bavaria, Joachim Herrmann (Christian Social Union), who demand that all Muslims living in Germany must sign a “declaration renouncing violence.”
Full article can be read here
January 28th, 2008
in
Islam, Islamophobia, Arts & Culture, All My Posts, fundamentalism |
January 29th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Having been to Hanover in Germany a couple of times, i can vouch for Muslims living in quite harmony with other communities. Islamophobia to me personally was non-existent at the grassroots level. However some incidents did inspire fear leading to questions we would often find hard to explain to germans. On the whole, i experienced pretty peaceful social interactions.
I think problem is more at the intellectual plane. Research, debate and dialgue are things which in my view have frequently shown bias. Global forces on both sides of the divide are quite resourceful to influence views, perceptions and findings according to their likings. May be this particular article is yet another attempt to portray islamification of west as the coming danger which can be countered by introducing some control mechanisms such as declaration by muslims to renounce violence.
Raza, after couple of weeks, just checked your website and realized how much i have missed. Will makre sure i benefit from inspiring write up you have pasted. All the best and keep up the wonderful work. It does agitate mind besides triggering some thought provoking ideas.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
I have lived in Germany, Berlin to be precise for one year. Two thirds of my stay was in wedding, a predominantly Turkish/ Muslim district and one of the poorest in Berlin. Well, from my personal observation, i can say there was a clear distinction between the Turkish/ Muslim and German lifestyles. I would say this was the same in Ghent, Belgium as well, where i lived in another Muslim neighborhood for sometime.
Muslims or should I say turks, were mostly no so well off, educated and in some cases, even socially not so comfortable to interact with. There is something wrong on their part, though I must say that Germans, especially from the former east Germany have an attitude problem as well. This goes across the board in all levels of the society.
January 31st, 2008 at 10:03 am
Zia and Faisal
thanks for the comments here. Indeed Germany is a democratic welfare state but the Muslim/Turkish problem is fanning the latent issues of race, nationhood and belonging. The purpose of this post was not to berate Germany and Germans but to highlight yet another global trend that haunts our collective civilization..
February 2nd, 2008 at 10:51 am
Check this out:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=75JlaHbU9gU