Germany’s Greens Party has come up with a detailed plan to make life easier and more attractive for Muslims in Germany.
As first reported by newspaper Tagesspiegel today, the eco left-wingers have already submitted their catalogue of 24 demands twice to parliament for debate in March.
In both cases, though, the party retracted its motion before the debate, allegedly in order not to “rock the boat” ahead of important regional elections.
Greens Party spokeswoman Lamya Kaddor said the postponements were motivated by the Muslim fasting period Ramadan: “As Ramadan drew to a close, we wanted to ensure that this important issue did not get lost in the hustle and bustle of Ramadan festivities.”
Previously, the motion had been adopted by the Greens Party itself on February 24 with unanimity.
The nine-page motion titled “Promoting diverse Muslim life in Germany” starts out by stating the “Muslim life is a firm part of German society” and bemoaning the fact that the Muslim community faces many structural challenges: “[These include] insufficient institutional recognition and representation, lacking conditions for religious and civil society work, shortcomings in the religious education infrastructure, as well as persistent discrimination and Islamophobia,” the motion read.
The Greens Party therefore demands that the federal government “actively strengthen” Muslim life in Germany.
To facilitate this strengthening the left-wingers suggest 24 measures, including:
- A “national plan of action” for public cooperation with Muslim congregations
- Subsidising scientific research on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism
- More financial support for Muslim organisations throughout the country
- Introducing an award for “civil society work” by Muslims
- Closer cooperation of State institutions with Muslim welfare organisations, for example in youth welfare
- Subsidising advice centres for victims of anti-Muslim racism
- Protecting Mosques throughout the country
- Introducing Muslim religious education at state schools throughout the country
- Giving Muslims the right to take a day off from work on high Islamic holidays
And last, but certainly not least contentious:
- Ending the ban on wearing headscarves in public service in order to “make Muslim life more visible as a part of the State”
The Greens’ plan has caused outrage with many observers. Ali Utlu, a prominent self-described “ex-Muslim” publicist from Cologne, wrote on X today: “So the Greens want to turn Germany into a living hell for women, gay people, Jews and all non-Muslims. Thanks for nothing, you idiots.”
The domestic policy speaker for Germany’s conservative Christian Democratic Union party, Alexander Throm, accused the Greens of retracting their motion in order not to scare off gullible voters ahead of the state election in the Rhineland on March 22: “The Greens should be honest and stand by their plans,” he said.
Greens Party MP Kaddor said the motion would be finally submitted for debate after March 23: “We have decided to debate the issue next week with dignity and calm, and with the necessary attention,” she said.
According to the German interior ministry there are currently 5.6 million Muslims living in the country, making up almost 7 per cent of the total population.
