In his recent article, the sociologist Farhad Khosrokhavar writes that a significant factor in jihadist radicalisation in Europe is the “jihadogenous urban structure”, a type of city district which produces jihadists at a much higher rate than other districts by shaping “the identity of those who are socially excluded and culturally stigmatised”.
For years, German public debates have asked whether ‘Islam’ has a rightful place in the country and whether it can be considered part of its identity. Yet the reasons given by those that see the religion as alien to Germany have fluctuated over time. Shifting discourses of Islam’s ‘incompatibility’ First of all, as the years…
In an interview with Qantara magazine, German writer Feridun Zaimoğlu takes stock of the country’s heated, at times hysterical debates on Islam and identity. He criticises both Interior Minister Seehofer’s identitarian overtures that come at the expense of Muslims living in the country – and the position taken by many Muslims themselves. In particular, he…
Are the rising levels of Islamophobic hate crimes in Germany indicative of a new form of racism? Yes, says Yasemin Shooman, researcher at the Technical University of Berlin and director of the Jewish-Islamic Forum at Berlin’s renowned Jewish Museum. ‘Immigrant’ = ‘Muslim’ The backdrop to Shooman’s argument is the de facto Islamisation of immigration debates. While…
Germany’s new Interior Minister has entered his office with a bang. Speaking to Germany’s leading tabloid, Bild, Horst Seehofer from the Christian Social Union (CSU) party triumphantly announced that Islam was “not part of Germany” or “did not belong to Germany” (Der Islam gehört nicht zu Deutschland), depending on the translation chosen.1 This quote made…
