Source: Deutsche Welle – Page 7

AfD’s Jews say German far-right party isn’t anti-Semitic A small number of Jewish people are founding a group to support the far-right Alternative for Germany party. They say the reports of the AfD's anti-Semitism are overblown.

September 25, 2018 Ben Knight and Roman Goncharenko

(Deutsche Welle) Politicians and Jewish organizations have condemned a new Jewish group affiliated with the far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD). The group, Juden in der AfD (“Jews in the AfD,” or JAfD), is preparing for a launch event on October 7 in the city of […]

German intelligence mulls putting largest Turkish-Islamic group under surveillance German intelligence is reportedly examining whether to put the Turkish-Islamic umbrella group DITIB under surveillance. The Turkish-state backed DITIB has been at the center of multiple controversies.

September 21, 2018 Chase Winter

(Deutsche Welle) Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is deciding whether to put the country’s largest Islamic umbrella group under official surveillance, the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and public broadcasters NDR and WDR reported on Thursday. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has […]

Turkey’s Erdogan to open Cologne mosque in controversial state visit The Turkish president's hopes of addressing the German-Turkish community are closer to becoming reality. His upcoming state visit was described as a 'betrayal' by journalist Deniz Yücel, who was imprisoned in Turkey.

September 19, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will officially open a new central mosque in the western German city of Cologne, the Turkish-Islamic organization DITIB confirmed on Tuesday evening. Erdogan will open the mosque at a ceremony at the end of his […]

Germany cuts funding to largest Turkish-Islamic organization DITIB The German federal government had provided funds to DITIB for counter-extremism and refugee aid programs. The Turkish-Islamic group has been under fire over a number of scandals.

August 30, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) The German government will no longer be funding projects run with the country’s largest Islamic umbrella group, the Interior Ministry in Berlin said on Thursday. Since the start of the year, the federal government has not approved any funding for […]

Female genital mutilation: Number of affected women rising in Germany Women's rights organization Terre des Femmes estimates that 65,000 women affected by female genital mutilation (FGM) are living in Germany. DW's Kate Brady met one Somali woman who is calling for an end to the practice.

August 27, 2018 Kate Brady

(Deutsche Welle) “I was about 11 or 12 years old. Several people held me down. Then they cut me. They laid me on the table. I can still see the image. I had such horrific pain. Then they sewed me together. They […]

‘Terre des Femmes’ pushes headscarf ban for girls The women's rights organization 'Terre des Femmes' has launched a petition calling for a headscarf ban for minors in schools and daycare centers in Germany. But the initiative has courted controversy.

August 23, 2018 Jennifer Wagner

(Deutsche Welle) A girl below the age of 18 wearing a headscarf? The human rights organization “Terre des Femmes” believes it is morally wrong and is demanding that the German government ban headscarves for girls in schools and daycare centres. On Thursday, […]

Attacks on Muslims drop in Germany in first half of 2018 The number of attacks on Muslims and mosques has fallen significantly in Germany, new figures show. But lawmakers warn the country is still failing to include its Muslim community in society.

August 22, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) In the first six months of 2018, there were 320 offenses committed against Muslims, mosques and other institutions associated with Islam in Germany, according to information from the Interior Ministry. That’s significantly lower than the nearly 500 cases reported during […]

Yazidi woman encounters ‘Islamic State’ captor in Germany The past she was attempting to flee came back to haunt a young Yazidi woman in a small town in Germany. Her former IS tormentor confronted her on the street and 'told me he knew everything about me.'

August 17, 2018 Lewis Sanders IV

(Deutsche Welle) A 19-year-old Yazidi woman has fled Germany with her family after encountering the “Islamic State” (IS) fighter who had enslaved her in Mosul on the streets of Schwäbisch Gmünd, a town in Baden-Württemberg. Ashwaq Haji Hamid arrived in the southwestern state with her […]

Germany tolerant of LGBT neighbors, but not Muslim ones While homophobia has seen a drastic decrease in Germany over the years, Islamophobia has remained stubbornly stagnant. A new Playboy poll has found that most Germans are opposed to mosques, hijab, and refugee homes.

August 16, 2018 Elizabeth Schumacher

(Deutsche Welle) A new poll published on Thursday by Playboy Germany shows that while national hostility to minority sexualities may have taken a nosedive over the years, hostility to Islam remains depressingly stagnant. According to the survey, which polled over 1,000 men […]

Jewish-Muslim youth group visits Auschwitz in show of solidarity A group of young Muslim refugees and Jewish youths have visited the former Auschwitz concentration camp. The trip is aimed a fostering solidarity between the two communities and understanding Germany's past crimes.

August 9, 2018 Volker Witting

(Deutsche Welle) “I need a shower for my soul and my body right now,” says Khaled Naeem. He has just come out of the dim building that houses the incinerators at Auschwitz and into the heat and blinding sun. He is deeply […]

Auschwitz: Muslim and Jewish groups hold multifaith memorial Jewish and Muslim leaders from Germany led a memorial for the victims of the Auschwitz death camp on the 74th anniversary of Nazi deportations from the Litzmannstadt ghetto. The ceremony was part of an educational tour.

August 9, 2018 Jane Mcintosh

(Deutsche Welle) Rabbi Henry Brandt and Aiman Mazyek of the Central Council of Muslims spoke at the entrance to Auschwitz on Thursday, at a memorial for the victims of the Nazi death camp. Mazyek said in his speech: “We promise that with […]

Germany and Spain reach agreement on migrant return Berlin and Madrid have agreed to return to Spain some migrants arriving in Germany. The German interior minister is hoping for more bilateral agreements to return migrants to their point of entry into Europe.

August 8, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) A spokeswoman for the German Interior Ministry said Wednesday that an agreement had been made to send back to Spain some migrants arriving in Germany. Eleonore Petermann said the deal had been signed by the German and Spanish interior ministries on […]

Islamist children pose real ‘threat’ to Germany, spy chief warns Germany's domestic intelligence chief has warned that children growing up in Islamist families in Germany may pose a risk to society. Conservative politicians say authorities should be allowed to monitor kids under 14.

August 6, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) Children from Islamist households in Germany represent a “not insignificant potential threat,” the head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany’s domestic intelligence service, Hans-Georg Maassen said Monday. In a new report cited by the Funke media […]

Extremist crimes in Germany down, number of fanatics up Germany's domestic intelligence agency says criminal extremism has declined, but numbers of potential extremists have risen. The BfV's annual report noted a sharp increase in members of the radical Reichsbürger movement.

July 24, 2018 Jefferson Chase

(Deutsche Welle) The overall news was good as Interior Minister Horst Seehofer and Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) President Hans-Georg Maassen presented their report on Tuesday for 2017. Politically motivated crimes in Germany declined by 4.9 percent over 2016 […]

DFB regrets Mesut Özil’s decision to quit Germany, rejects suggestions of racism Germany's football association, the DFB, has responded to the criticism it has received since Mesut Özil announced he had quit the national team. It rejected any suggestion of racism and stressed its integration work.

July 23, 2018 Hecko Flores

(Deutsche Welle) In a statement released on Monday, the DFB (German football association) said it regretted but respected Mesut Özil’s decision to retire from the national team. It also thanked the midfielder for his 92 international appearances for the country, as well as […]

Bavarian town votes against building mosque Citizens in the small Bavarian town of Kaufbeuren voted not to provide public land for a mosque. A local initiative was started by a retired detective and garnered enough votes to stop the negotiations.

July 23, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) In a local vote on Sunday, the residents of Kaufbeuren, a small town in Bavaria, decided against providing public land for the construction of a mosque. At issue was the question of whether the city would provide the local branch […]

Mesut Özil quits Germany over Erdogan controversy Footballer Mesut Özil has quit the national team amid the fallout from meeting Turkey's president and Germany's World Cup exit. In a strongly worded statement, Özil said he would 'no longer stand for being a scapegoat.'

July 22, 2018 Matt Pearson

(Deutsche Welle) Mesut Özil said on Sunday he will no longer play international football for Germany following the fallout from his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The 29-year-old issued three lengthy and hard-hitting statements via Twitter, in which he singled out German […]

Austria to stop offering driving tests in Turkish Starting next year, new drivers in Austria will no longer be able to take their exam in Turkish, according to Transport Minister Norbert Hofer. The far-right politician claims the move is motivated by financial reasons.

July 21, 2018 Darko Janjevic

(Deutsche Welle) As Austria prepares a new version of its driving exam, Transport Minister Norbert Hofer announced on Saturday the test would be available in German, English, Slovenian and Croatian — but not Turkish. Under current regulations, driving students in Austria can sign […]

Media and migrants: How journalists help fuel populist momentum Polls say that migrants aren't what Germans are most concerned about. So why do the media and politicians push the topic so much? Is the AfD profiting from their mistakes? DW's Jefferson Chase takes a self-critical look.

July 21, 2018 Jefferson Chase

(Deutsche Welle) It’s a result that has given journalistic and political Berlin pause for thought: Germans are more concerned about old-age poverty and affordable housing than about migrants. At least that’s the finding of a recent Emnid poll for the Bild am […]

German cabinet declares Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria ‘safe’ Germany's cabinet wants to add three Maghreb states and Georgia to a list of 'safe countries of origin.' But will the change pass Germany's upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat, where it failed last year?

July 18, 2018 Timothy Jones and Jefferson Chase

(Deutsche Welle) The German government will put forward legislation declaring Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Georgia “safe countries of origin.” The decision was reached after the weekly meeting of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet on Wednesday in Berlin. If enacted, the change in the […]

German government aims to expand Islam Conference with critical voices Germany's Interior Ministry wants to curb the influence of organized and often conservative Muslim associations at the country's annual Islam Conference. Critics say the move risks limiting religious dialogue.

July 13, 2018 Richard A. Fuchs

(Deutsche Welle) By the time the summer comes to a close, things will be different at the German Islam Conference, an annual event aimed at fostering dialogue between the government and Muslims living in the country. At least that is the aim […]

Turkey’s Gulen movement on the rise in Germany After Turkey's foiled coup attempt in 2016, many supporters of exiled Muslim cleric Fetullah Gulen were driven out of the country. But in Germany, the movement is increasingly gaining influence, writes Gunnar Köhne.

July 13, 2018 Gunnar Köhne

(Deutsche Welle) When the Turkish government crushed an attempted coup on July 15, 2016, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed supporters of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric in self-imposed exile in the United States. There were plenty of rumors about Gulen’s involvement in […]

German Interior Ministry bans biker gang Osmanen Germania BC Germany has banned Turkish-nationalist biker gang Osmanen Germania BC, accusing the group of carrying out violent crimes. Officials believe the gang has ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

July 10, 2018 Unlisted Author

(Deutsche Welle) German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer outlawed biker group Osmanen Germania BC (Germania Ottomans) on Tuesday, banning them from all activity. “The club presents a serious danger for individual legally protected rights and for the general public,” the ministry said in […]

German interior minister presents his migration master plan German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has presented his long-awaited asylum 'master plan.' But he did not include the last-minute compromises made with coalition partners last week, which averted a government crisis.

July 10, 2018 Ben Knight

(Deutsche Welle) Interior Minister Horst Seehofer finally got to present his migration “master plan” to the press on Tuesday, a month after it was blocked at the last minute by Chancellor Angela Merkel, precipitating a crisis in the German government that almost […]

German Jewish groups: German NGOs must fight anti-Semitism if they want public funds After several high-profile incidents of anti-Semitic violence, Germany's Jewish community has had enough. They have appealed to the government to institute a kind of anti-Semitism oath for groups seeking public funding.

July 9, 2018 Richard A. Fuchs

(Deutsche Welle) Just last week, a man wearing the Star of David was beaten down and kicked right in the center of Berlin. Some weeks earlier, a similar incident in Germany’s capital caused public outrage and sparked a nationwide debate on anti-Semitism […]

Germany’s Thilo Sarrazin in court over controversial book on Islam His controversial views have stirred much debate in Germany. Now Thilo Sarrazin has written a new book about Islam — and is battling his erstwhile publisher in court over it.

July 9, 2018 Petra Lambeck

(Deutsche Welle) His highly controversial books sell in the millions. It all began with “Deutschland schafft sich ab” (“Germany is doing away with itself”). Thilo Sarrazin’s 2010 book stimulated a fiery debate over German immigration policy and migrants from Islamic countries. While […]

Anti-Semitism in German schools to be tackled with anti-bullying commissioners German Family Minister Franziska Giffey wants to send bullying prevention experts to schools to curb a rise in anti-Jewish attacks. Berlin schools, in particular, have seen anti-Semitic bullying in recent months.

July 5, 2018 Nicole Goebel

(Deutsche Welle) Family Minister Franziska Giffey plans to fund 170 bullying prevention experts, who are to be sent to selected German schools, she told Thursday’s edition of German daily Rheinische Post. Asked if anti-Semitism is a growing problem in schools now that Germany […]