Continuing on from my previous post on the different approaches to the question of immigration in the U.S. and Germany there has been an interesting development in Germany.
The Bundeskanzler Angela Merkel, although very critical of Thilo Sarrazin's comments, and involved at least indirectly in his resignation, has now come out with her view of the immigration question.
In somewhat classic German style she has forewarned those immigrants who demonstrate an "unwillingness to integrate" into German society that they're reticence will be met with "sternness".
In so doing she addressed Mr Sarrazin's concerns, but didn't stop there. She went on to discuss that integration is the responsibility not only of immigrants, but also the responsibility of the "native" German society.
She was quick to put some of the legacy of a failed Integration Policy onto the Red-Green coalition, specifically the drive towards a "multiculti" society, but she also admitted that her party had to do more than just point out past failures.
In what I would consider a very loud "shot across the bows" she bluntly stated that Mosques will become a more common part of the German landscape, and that the general population will have to get accustomed to them.
To put this last point in context: Berlin has an immigrant community of some 13.5%. This number is over 21% in Stuttgart, the city of Daimler and Porsche. The majority of these immigrants are of Turkish heritage i.e. Islamic.
The focus in Germany is clearly on integration, and that begins with learning German.
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It seems that generally speaking the biggest concerns are raised where Islam as a religion is concerned.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I think the French are correct in making their citizens align themselves to a nationality first, in this case French, and a religion second.