Standing Up Against Right-Wing Demagogues

Lale Akgün: You could call it that. In Cologne, the Confederation of German Trade Unions put together a broad alliance of democrats very soon after the news that right-wing populists were planning this deplorable racist congress. The motto is "Blocking the way – No to racism." I was one of the first people to sign the alliance's public appeal, and now more than 600 prominent figures from Cologne – politicians, artists and businesspeople – have done the same. The alliance will be protesting against the congress with demonstrations and events on 19 and 20 September.

Will you be taking part in this demonstration?

Akgün: It goes without saying that I will, just as I didn't hesitate a moment to sign the public appeal. I hope many of Cologne's inhabitants will take to the streets and show Germany and the rest of the world: Cologne is an open-minded city and will stay that way – there is no room for racism here!

Political parties, trade unions and church organisations have planned joint actions against the event under the motto "Blocking the way". The people of Cologne are taking to the streets for peaceful coexistence – and especially for tolerance. What do you think the organisers of the congress want to achieve?

Akgün: The organisers are using the new mosque as an opportunity to voice their populist right-wing politics. They have discovered Islam as a new bogeyman and are now trying to use the public debate on Cologne's central mosque as a means to an end, to garner public attention.

We had an objective and decent debate here in Cologne, and the city council decided in favour of the construction project. Building will start at the beginning of next year, and the first worshippers will be able to pray there at the end of 2010. Cologne has sent out a message that the possibility of practising one's own religion is part of successful integration. And still the right-wingers will use their so-called congress to feed people's fears and drum up resentment of Islam. But I'm convinced that people won't fall for it and the event will not be well attended.

Notorious racists and right-wing extremists such as the chairman of the French "Front National", Jean-Marie Le Pen, are expected to take part in the congress. Have Europe's right-wing extremists chosen "Islam" and Muslims as their new foe?

Akgün: Yes, unfortunately. The right wing lives from its bogeymen: they single out everything that is "alien", so foreigners and migrants but also homosexuals, for instance, and try to gain political advantage from their antipathy. For some time now, they have been homing in on Muslims and Islam as their new pet hate. And they have been spreading many untruths about Islam. I see this as a dangerous tendency that we have to fight back against, through protests, through alliances of democrats and through information for the general public.

The German government has criticised the congress in no uncertain terms, emphasising that the extremist event is at loggerheads with the government's efforts to promote inter-faith and intercultural dialogue. Who do the organisers represent at all?

Akgün: I really wonder that myself. The organisers are deliberately trying to present a false impression, as if they were speaking on behalf of a large group of people from across Europe. But that's not true! I think for the main part the organisers and participants of the congress are speaking only for themselves. The vast majority of Cologne's population is 100% behind the new mosque, and this racist congress won't change that. But these right-wing extremists aren't concerned with content anyway – all they want is the attention.

Although the organisers are in an isolated position and have hardly any influence on political decision-making processes in Germany, they are gaining a great deal of media attention, particularly in certain Islamic countries. What can we do to prevent possible damage to Europe's relations with the Islamic world?

Akgün: First of all, we democrats in Cologne and the whole of Germany have to give a strong signal that we won't tolerate racism and extremism in our midst. The government has expressed that very clearly. And secondly, I think it's important for the media in the Islamic world to report in detail about the precise circumstances of the so-called anti-Islam congress – and the protests against it.

That should put the picture to rights, showing clearly that the congress organisers are a small, scattered group of extremists and racists, they are not representative of the German population, and this is not a Europe-wide movement against Islam. I think the media in the Islamic countries can play a very important role in de-escalating the international situation through informative reporting.

Interview: Loay Mudhoon

© Qantara.de 2008

Lale Akgün is a member of the German Bundestag and the Social Democratic Party's commissioner for Islam. From 1997 to 2001, she was head of North Rhine Westphalia's Centre for Migration (LzZ) in the ministry of social affairs.

Translated from the German by Katy Derbyshire

Qantara.de

Green Light for the Construction of the Cologne Mosque
The Triumph of Reason
The city council has made up its mind and given the go-ahead for the construction of Cologne's controversial mosque. In his commentary, Peter Philipp, who feels that the building of mosques in Germany should be supported, writes that ultimately, this is a victory of sense over ignorance

German Architect To Build Mosque
"Muslims Should Not Try to Hide"
In order to find an architect for their mosque, a Muslim community in Germany conducted an open tender process. Now the German non-Muslim Paul Böhm was awarded the first prize for his model. Thilo Guschas interviewed the architect

Mosque Controversy in Germany
The Freedom to Practice One's Religion Is a Constitutional Right
Controversy reigns in debate over the building of Cologne's new mosque. If the majority population stands in the way of religious freedom, it must bear responsibility, too, for the failure of integration, says Peter Philipp