The slogan “We are the people!” (Wir sind das Volk!) was one of the iconic protest chants of the 1989 ‘peaceful revolution’. It helped seal the fate of the crumbling regime of East Germany’s Socialist Unity Party (SED), ultimately paving the way for German reunification. Since 2015, the chant has been heard again; and again…
Mesut Özil’s resignation from the Germany national football team after a racist witch-hunt that had blamed him and his Turkish heritage for Germany’s poor showing at the world cup in Russia energised anti-racist activism in Germany. Under the #MeTwo hashtag, countless internet users related their personal experiences of everyday discrimination and racism. Many of the stories shared…
Germany’s Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, has announced his intention to restart the country’s controversial German Islam Conference (Deutsche Islamkonferenz, DIK) in autumn. The DIK first convened in 2006, upon the request of Seehofer’s predecessor in office, Wolfgang Schäuble. In Schäuble’s words, the DIK’s stated aim has been to “facilitate the integration of Muslims…
In recent weeks, Mesut Özil’s resignation from Germany’s national football team and the ensuing debate on racism, spearheaded by the #MeTwo hashtag, have galvanised public attention in Germany. Mainstreaming of the far-right This comes as many Muslim and/or anti-racist civil society organisations see themselves at a crossroads. The rise of the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany…
Mesut Özil’s departure from the national football team continues to shake up the German political scene. Özil had quit the team after a row over a picture taken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In an open letter to German media, sponsors, and the football association, Özil cited racism and disrespect as the main reasons…
