Muslims in Germany
Merz: The CDU debate about Islam is not over yet
“We will not leave this debate to others”: Friedrich Merz. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
At the beginning of May, the CDU wants to adopt a new basic program. One passage caused a lot of discussion in advance. Party leader Merz sees the debate as an important service for Germany.
According to the party leader, the internal party debate in the CDU on how to deal with Muslims is Friedrich Merz is not finished yet.
“There is now a text proposal for the federal party conference. I assume that we will have discussions about this again at the federal party conference, but that is good and right, because we have to clarify this question because we are dealing with the issue in Germany have a problem,” said Merz in an interview with the German Press Agency. The CDU basic program will be decided at a party conference in Berlin at the beginning of May.
Last week, the CDU changed the wording about Muslims in the draft of the new basic program. The subheading originally said: “Muslims who share our values belong to Germany.” This now became: “Muslims are part of the religious diversity of Germany and our society.” This sentence was then inserted into the following paragraph: “An Islam that does not share our values and rejects our free society does not belong to Germany.”
Merz: Problems with political Islam
“We have – and this cannot be seriously disputed – serious problems in Germany with political Islam and radicalized Muslims,” emphasized Merz. In Germany there is a clear separation between state and religion, “which some Muslims in Germany do not want to accept. For them, Sharia law is above the Basic Law.” The CDU resolutely opposes this view, also in order to curb the polarization of society. “We will not leave this debate to others.”
Merz does not accept the suggestion that the CDU unnecessarily raised the issue again with its debate: “The debate has always taken place in public and of course it takes place against the background of the anti-Semitic riots that took place last year after September 7th “Unfortunately, October also took place in German cities with new intensity.” So the CDU must also provide an answer in its new basic program to the question of how to deal with the many millions of Muslims in Germany.
“On the one hand, it was important for us to make a clear, positive statement, since the vast majority of Muslims here live without any problems, some in the third and fourth generation, as part of our society in Germany,” said Merz. But it is just as important to point out that “we expect all people in Germany, including Muslims, to adhere to the values of our Basic Law and our society.”
Debate as part of solidarity with Israel
Merz also sees the debate as part of solidarity with Israel: “Jewish life belongs to Germany and that needs to be protected again more than ever, which weighs heavily on all of us, but it has to be done. And we know that many of them are also Muslims , here also deny Israel’s right to exist.” For him, Islamic life also belongs to Germany, “no question about it.” However, coexistence takes place within the framework of “our constitutional order, our system of values and our state. And the rules are set by the state and not by religious communities.”