Turkish politicians and public opinion leaders have welcomed remarks from German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressing her view that Islam has become a part of Germany and that she is urging her fellow citizens to show tolerance for Muslims, but many say the chancellor still needs to take positive action to prove her sincerity.
Merkel said about Islam that Germans “should be open about it and say, ‘yes, it’s part of us’.” She added that Christians should maybe start thinking and talking more about their own religion again “rather than fearing Islam.” Germany is home to an estimated 4 million Muslims.
(Today’s Zaman)
Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, who spoke to reporters during an event in Yozgat on Thursday said: “This is an important statement. Earlier, Mr. President [Christian] Wulff had also made a similar remark. Now Mrs. Merkel has to take a second step and cancel the poster campaign that has been put back,” referring to a government funded campaign of posters against Islamic fundamentalism, which critics say is prejudiced and portrays all Muslims as a potential radical threat. “If Islam is a part of Germany … then Germany’s interior ministry should cancel the poster campaign, putting it to a later date doesn’t mean anything; only if it’s cancelled will [Merkel’s remarks] have true meaning.”
Bozdağ, in exclusive comments to Today’s Zaman later in the day, said, “A normal person cannot be racist or randomly insult religious values. Those who do things like that are sick people in need of treatment. But it is up to politicians to eradicate the problems that they cause. The administrators in the US and France were able to address the concerns of the Muslims about the nonsensical film in the US and the cartoons in France. The problem in Germany is that it has a minister who is offending Muslim.”
Savaş Genç, an international relations instructor at Fatih University, also agreed in remarks made to Today’s Zaman, saying: “It is really good that they have come to this point, although it came out of desperation. It is important that they take it further from here.”
Genç said when Wulff made similar remarks earlier, Merkel did not agree and also asserted that multiculturalism had died in Germany. “Many experts say multiculturalism never even became a part of Germany. They claim that different societies tried to exist under a dominant single culture.”
Clarifying his words that Merkel’s statement had come out of desperation, Genç said that a series of neo-Nazi murders of Turks in Germany left the country’s conservatives in a tough position. “In other words, things started getting out of hand. They don’t know what this can get dragged into after this point. Earlier, it [anti-immigrant and anti-Islamic policies] was an instrument that could be used in elections. We know that more than 80 percent of German voters attach importance to immigration and Islam policies of political parties. This is scientific data from the Election Research Institution,” he stated.
Genç said the anti-immigrant sentiments in German society could easily be turned into votes. Genç added: “For example, you could easily use Turkey-EU relations as election campaign material and alienate Muslim immigrants and others. After the neo-Nazi serial murders surfaced, they came to the realization that they can’t keep the violence under control, that Islamophobia isn’t a harmless instrument that can be cashed in for votes. Realizing the size of the threat, they are now trying to put an end to this.”
The eurozone crisis also has had a role in this statement, according to Genç: “German voters, who previously voted based on immigration policies and Muslims, are starting to get sick of hearing the same thing. The voters are now sick of politicians who demand and win votes based on hostile discourses and conflict. They want to see concrete solutions to real problems.”
Germany’s main opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) will nominate former Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck to challenge Merkel in the next elections, which Genç says was a smart choice: “The SPD says it will offer concrete solutions, asking what the conservatives are doing. I think Merkel’s statement is the product of desperation arising from all these conditions.”
He said understandably Merkel and her administration feared that a second Anders Behring Breivik case in Germany could lead to irreparable damage in Germany, where millions of immigrants and Muslims reside.
The secretary-general of the Turkish-German Friendship Group in Parliament, Memet Günal, an Antalya deputy from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), commented: “Politicians shouldn’t just give these messages for political purposes, but implement them as permanent policies. This is a positive step in bringing down rising tension and reining in Islamophobia. We hope it will turn into practice and that policies of alienating and isolating others are abandoned in the name of social peace.”
Germany’s immigrants want further steps
Civil society groups in Germany welcome the statement cautiously, saying the government should do more to prove its sincerity. Coordination Council of Muslims in Germany (KRM) head Ali Kızılkaya told Today’s Zaman: “We welcome the chancellor’s statement. This was a much needed statement. It is a fact that Muslims and Islam are a part of German, and we are happy that this fact has been concerned. However, in addition to this, the extremely offensive poster campaign should be stopped.” He also said his group would also like to see Joachim Gauck, Germany’s incumbent president, make a similar statement.
Seyfi Örgütlü of the Union of Islamic Culture Unions said Merkel’s message is important, especially in these days when anti-Muslim incidents have reached a peak. “Government representatives have an important responsibility in this respect,” he said.
İbrahim Küçükyıldız, head of the DEIN Cologne Initiative, a group of academics who are children of immigrants, said: “This is a true statement. This is the reality of Germany. But on the other hand there is a poster campaign in the works that encourages Islamophobia here. The poster campaign strengthens prejudices and labels. It is also unconstitutional. Chancellor Merkel can stop this campaign to prove that she is really standing by her words.”
Other Germany-based immigrant groups, including the Islam Society National View (IGMG), the Association of Turkish Academics (NİTAB) and the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD) have called for an end to the poster campaign.
