The recent arrest of two German converts on accusations of plotting terrorist attacks has placed Muslim converts in the European country under the microscope. “You can’t say that conversion to Islam carries an implicit tendency towards becoming a radical,” said Stefan Reichmuth, a professor of Islamic studies at the Ruhr University in Bochum. Last week,…
{Over the past several decades, the German Muslim immigrant community has undergone a transition from being one of “Guest workers” (in which immigrants lived in Germany on a temporary, seasonal basis in segregated communities) to one in which immigrants and German society are trying to facilitate a long-term integration of immigrants into mainstream society. This…
PARIS – Though Islam is the continent’s second religion, Muslims across Europe are facing campaigns from far-right groups and some church leaders to have stately mosques. “The desire of Muslims to build a house of worship means they want to feel at home and live in harmony with their religion in a society they have…
On April 10, the German Muslim leaders announced the creation of a new umbrella organization: the Coordination Council of Muslims in Germany (KRM). The KRM will unite the leadership of the four central German Muslim authorities: the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), the Islamic Council (IR), the Central Council of Muslims (ZMD) and the…
Germany’s Islamic organizations aren’t lacking in number. But coherence has long been a problem. Now four groups are banding together to form an umbrella organization. German politicians applaud the initiative, but warn that it’s only one of several on the way to better inter-cultural dialogue. When Interior Minister Wolfgang Sch_uble held an Islam conference in…
