|
German Muslims Urged to Unite Against Racism
 |
|
Abdullah
said German Muslims played key role in Schroeder’s re-election.
|
By
Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent
BERLIN,
April 19, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – An Islamic affairs expert has
called on the Muslim minority in Germany to unite and use their clout
to counter discrimination against them.
"When
a German Muslim is subjected to racial discrimination in a certain
store because of his faith he should immediately report the incident
to Muslim leaders in his area," Mohamed Salem Abdullah, the
director of the Islam archive institute in Germany, told
IslamOnline.net on Tuesday, April 19.
"Subsequently,
this store should by boycotted by all Germany Muslims to demonstrate
their unity and influence,” added the expert.
Abdullah
recalled, in this respect, the instrumental role played by German
Muslims in the re-election of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
"Some
200,000 German Muslims voted for Schroeder in the latest elections
which he won by only 9,000," he noted.
The
Muslim expert added that, acting upon the advice of their leaders, at
least 90% of the German Muslims voted for the ruling Socialist Party
during the last elections.
On
September 22, 2002, Schroeder secured a slim victory for a second term
in office.
His
Social Democrat-Green coalition parties squeezed through with a
combined 47.1 percent of the vote, giving them 306 seats in the new
603-seat parliament.
According
to Abdullah, as many as 500,000 German Muslims are eligible to cast
ballot.
Islam
comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.
There
are some 3.4 million Muslims in the country, including 220,000 in
Berlin, and Turks make up an estimated two thirds of the Muslim
minority.
More
Unity
The
Muslim expert commended steps taken by German Muslim groups to form a
unified body to represent them and defend their rights.
Six
major Muslim organizations in Germany agreed in February to unite
under one umbrella in an effort to combat racist practices against the
Muslim minority in the country and ensure the teaching of Islam in
schools.
Abdullah
called for more such steps to enhance unity among German Muslims and
raise their awareness on the importance of integration into society.
The
need for one umbrella body representing German Muslims is reinforced
by increasing discrimination campaign against the minority.
In
the latest anti-Muslim incident, Dieter Klinger, a police director in
Kohlen, told a recent forum on Islam in the Emden church that Muslims
were trying to dominate politics in the country.
He
also claimed that mosques were only used to incite violence and
promote terrorism.
Klinger
warned that the growing Muslim role in Germany poses a threat to the
country’s Christian society.
He
triggered uproar among the attendees who dismissed his remarks as an
insolence, not only to Islam, but also to Christianity.
Some
accused him of inciting intolerance while others left the room in
protest.
In
a new effort to clear stereotypes and build bridges with non-Muslims,
Germany's biggest mosque recently formed a team to introduce Islam to
curious Germans.
The
team organizes regular tours for visitors of Fateh mosque in the city
of Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, who week first hand information on
Islam.
Similarly,
40 German Muslim youths, aged 18-30, set up a
kiosk in central Hamburg on December 21-24, distributing
illustrative materials on Islam among attentive and enthusiastic
passers-by.
The
energetic volunteers used “Muslims Against Terror” as their mantra
to reinforce the fact that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism.
A
recent report by the International Helsinki Federation for
Human Rights (IHF) said that Muslim minorities across Europe have been
experiencing growing distrust, hostility and discrimination since the
9/11 attacks.
|
