(European Conservative) Germany’s welfare statistics have reignited the debate over migration and integration after new figures revealed that “Mohammed” and its many spelling variants have become the most common first name among recipients of Bürgergeld, the country’s basic income support.
The revelation emerged after a follow-up parliamentary enquiry by AfD MP René Springer, who demanded clarification of earlier figures published by the federal government.
In the initial release, names were listed separately according to spelling, meaning that common variants of the same name appeared much further down the ranking. For example, “Mohammad” was counted separately from “Mohamed” or “Muhammad.”
