Accepting the Reality of Immigration

​​In a report on Islam and integration in Germany published last week, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said Germany has made mistakes in integrating Muslim immigrants, but the think tank also offered an extensive list of recommendations on what all parties can do to improve. ICG consultant Jonathan Laurence told Angela Lieber about Germany's major hurdles to integrating foreigners and how they can be overcome.

What are the current main barriers hindering the successful integration of Muslim immigrants in German society?

Jonathan Laurence: The foremost is integration into the educational system and the second, equally important perhaps, is political representation, for example through political parties.

What role does religion play in the current discussion of integration?

Laurence: Clearly, it plays a very important one, since it is a very visible difference that marks migrants from a Muslim-majority country as being somehow different or potentially more difficult to integrate, because Islam can be seen as something that is incompatible with the German constitution or the German way of life.

I think a very important change in this mentality has occurred with the current governing coalition and the initiatives of Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, which are altogether welcome and - as he put it - it's better late than never.

Although it's been late in coming, the creation of a German-Islam conference is perhaps the most concrete and tangible sign that, at last, the German government has taken the religious dimension seriously and begun to ensure equality for Muslims in the same way that it does - admirably - for Catholics, Protestants and Jews, among others.

Why do so many Germans associate Muslims with Islamic fundamentalists?

​​Laurence: Islamic fundamentalism is one of the challenges of our era. Understandably, many societies which have a large Muslim minority become uneasy and ask themselves how their Muslim fellow citizens feel about the terrorist acts being committed in their name. That's a reasonable question to ask and waiting for an answer before jumping to conclusions should be part of the process.

The way you get at that answer is by talking to your fellow citizens of Muslim background and getting to know them and how they feel about religious and political issues, about the socio-economic challenges they face and the integration of these populations into society.

I think you'll often find that you're pleasantly surprised, in that the largest federations of prayer spaces and the most important religious leaders will be among the first to denounce the misuse of religion for violent or political ends.

What steps should the German government take in order to facilitate the integration process?

Laurence: We have a number of recommendations that encourage the German government to carry forward with the excellent initiatives it has begun, notably the integration summit last July and the German-Islam conference last September. These are important forums whose existence should be celebrated.

Now we have to get down to the harder question of what exactly is discussed in these forums, who participates, and to what end. We're not convinced that the question of values and the role of women in society, for example, are appropriate themes for what should be a relatively technical discussion of state-Islam relations.

Another very important recommendation, which is more directed to the governments of the Länder (states), is to figure out a way to fund early linguistic training for four and five year olds among the migration population.

These children are entering the school system with linguistic deficiencies and, therefore, have a serious handicap in terms of going on to the right schools, or at least those schools which are more likely to lead to a university diploma, which of course is the determining factor in success on the job market.

What can the Muslim side do to improve the integration process?

Laurence: The Muslim side is as varied as the German side. That said, there are some important organizations which can play a key role in the integration process, not only on the religious side of the equation, but also on the political one.

Muslims should join Germany's political parties and become actively involved in asserting their rights and duties as citizens. Those who are not yet citizens should consider the possibility of naturalization. Living in a host society involves taking an active role in it.

We also recommend that religious organizations assume their fully German character and focus on their main task, which is to facilitate the integration of Turkish-origin migrants of all ideologies, sects and economic backgrounds.

Interview: Angela Lieber

© DEUTSCHE WELLE 2007

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