New German cabinet criticised for its lack of diversity

After months of arduous negotiations following September 2017’s federal elections, the new German government was sworn in on March 14. Complex personnel choices After the cornerstones of the coalition deal had been agreed upon in early February, the three participating parties – Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), its conservative Bavarian sister party CSU, and…

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Austrian elections pave way for populist government, making Muslims apprehensive

The elections to the National Council, the lower house of the Austrian Parliament on October 15, have marked a firm shift to the right in Austrian politics, particularly on matters of immigration, integration, and Islam. Sebastian Kurz headed for an ÖVP-FPÖ coalition After an electoral campaign dominated by at times vicious diatribes against Muslims and…

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German Muslims’ react to election results, rise of far-right AfD party

Germany has gone to the polls – and the results have thoroughly shaken the country’s political scene. The impression, prevailing at times in sections of the liberal international media, of Germany as a beacon of stability in a Western world marred by the rise of populism had for a long time been a faulty one….

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German Turks gear up for upcoming election

As Germany prepares to go to the polls on September 24th, the public debate has zoned in on questions of immigration, integration, and Islam. Consequently, German Muslims are under particular scrutiny in the run-up to an election that will most definitely hand a good number of parliamentary seats to the openly Islamophobic AfD party. German…

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Why do the French Fear Islam?

Although Marine le Pen did not win the French presidential elections, the anti islamic discourses and practices will not abate. This essay explains why, focusing in particular on the lack of symbolic integration of Islam in France.   https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/forum/religious-freedom-in-france-s-presidential-elections/responses/why-do-the-french-fear-islam

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