German Federal Parliament approves ritual circumcision

Dec 12   After controversial debates about religious motivated circumcision, the German Federal Parliament approves circumcision. The circumcision must be executed by trained persons and must fulfill health and medical regulations.   A prior draft attempted to legalize the circumcision of boys with the minimum age of 14. However, the majority of the parliament did…

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The Muslim voting block in Germany

Muslims in Germany form a potential voting block that cannot to be ignored. According to a study by the Islam Conference last June, the total number of Muslims in Germany lies between 3.8 and 4.3 million, of which 1.84 million hold a German passport. The German Federal Statistics Office conservatively estimates that some 750,000 Muslims…

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German Muslims feel neglected in election campaign

Many of Germany’s 4 million Muslims feel forgotten and ill-inclined to vote in this month’s election, and even politicians acknowledge they have woken up too late to their ballot box potential. In Duisburg in the industrial Ruhr region that is home to Germany’s biggest mosque, conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel and Social Democrat (SPD) challenger Frank-Walter…

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EU doubts over taking in former Guantánamo prisoners

EU countries could be willing to help the US close down Guantánamo Bay by taking in released detainees despite the doubts of some member states, the EU foreign policy chief said today as European foreign ministers struggled to find common ground in Brussels. “This is an American problem and they have to solve it but…

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EU doubts over taking in former Guantánamo prisoners

EU countries could be willing to help the US close down Guantánamo Bay by taking in released detainees despite the doubts of some member states, the EU foreign policy chief said today as European foreign ministers struggled to find common ground in Brussels. “This is an American problem and they have to solve it but…

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