Today, millions of Muslims call Germany their homeland. Some families have lived in the country for two, three or even four generations. However, for some people, the problem of integrating into mainstream German society and gaining recognition is not without difficulties.
Riem Spielhaus, an Islamic expert at the University of Göttingen, said Wolff’s statement resonated. She said that in the next few years, great progress was made in integrating and accepting Muslims. She said, but in 2016, the process stalled. “And we have partially seen the progress.”
The expert says that in many cases various German countries have legal means to make the society more accommodating to Muslims. This applies to things like Islamic burials, holidays on Islamic holidays, offering spiritual care in hospitals and prisons, and teaching Islamic theology in universities.
The German countries differ the most when it comes to teaching the Islamic religion at school. Unlike Christianity, where the churches are organized hierarchically and have official leaders, this is not the case in Islam. Some large Muslim organizations operating in Germany, such as the Turkish Islamic Religious Union (Ditib), are financed from abroad. Therefore, German lawmakers avoid close cooperation with the association, fearing outside interference.
Cooperation between Germany and the country’s numerous Muslim associations is fraught with difficulties. For example, in July of this year, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs worked hard to make Muslim lawyer Nurhan Soykan a consultant for one of its departments.
However, this announcement drew criticism, with some accusing Soykan (he is the deputy chairman of the Central Committee of German Muslims) for doing too little to resist religious extremism. Then, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs changed direction and abandoned the soybean hall.
Although cooperation with official Muslim associations is not always easy, smaller-scale cooperation is usually successful. Serap Güler is a member of the Christian Democrats (CDU). He served as the Secretary of State for Integration Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state. He cited the Muslim Citizen Activism Coordination Committee as example. She said the organization cooperates with about 200 Muslim civil society organizations in the state, such as Muslim carnival groups, Scout organizations and integration projects. According to Güler, legislators are keen to empower such civil organizations.
Source : DW