On December 8 2021, Germany swore in a new chancellor, Olaf Scholz of the Social Democrats (SPD), ending the 16-year reign of Angela Merkel. Scholz will oversee a three-party coalition, which includes the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats (FDP) as junior partners. Long-time Green Party member and former head of the party, Cem Özdemir,…
Germany’s Muslim bloggers offer alternative opinions and perspectives on Muslim life. In so doing, they correct the image of Muslims that is portrayed in traditional media. Canan Topçu reports Rukiye Dogan blogs sporadically. Initially, she just wrote about the things she saw in her daily life, observed in the world around her, or discovered by…
25 November 2010 As police brace themselves for a possible terrorist attack, the ruling conservatives have called on Germany’s Muslim community to root out extremists at mosques and report them to authorities. Stefan Müller, integration spokesman for the Christian Democrats and Christian Social Union’s parliamentary group, said members of the 2,500 mosques in Germany should…
Until recently, the political rhetoric was the giveaway of real opinions of German political actors in Germany’s Muslim minority. While proclaiming openness, they found it sufficient to mention Islamic customs when referring to a case of honor killing in a Kurdish family or forced marriage among immigrants from Anatolia. German politicians too long equated Islam…
The northern German state of Lower Saxony announced recently that it was establishing the country’s first academic department of Islamic theology. The department, to be based at the University of Osnabrueck, will provide a place for theological research and will offer training for future imams. The move reflects fresh efforts across Germany to address concerns…
