Chencellor Angela Merkel contradicted the newly inaugurated Interior Minister Horst Seehofer on Friday when she told reporters, “Islam belongs to Germany.”
“#Islam belongs to Germany.”
Chancellor #Merkel reacts to a controversial interview by Interior Minister #Seehofer: pic.twitter.com/WmgAoOABOS
— DW | Politics (@dw_politics) March 16, 2018
The Local reported:
The first major controversy of Germany’s new government broke out on Friday when Merkel was forced to contradict her new interior minister over the place of Islam in the country.
Germany’s newly inaugurated Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Bild newspaper on Friday that he doesn’t believe the Islamic faith is part of German culture.
“Islam does not belong to Germany. Germany is characterized by Christianity. These aspects include shops being closed on Sundays, church holidays and rituals such as Easter, Pentecost and Christmas,” said the Christian Social Union (CSU) Bavarian leader.
“The Muslims who live with us obviously belong to Germany,” he stated, adding that “this does not mean we give up our country-specific traditions and customs out of a misplaced consideration for others.”
Seehofer recently vowed to speed up deportations of rejected asylum seekers in his new role, as his ministry is responsible for topics including migration. His comments highlight his intent to steer his CSU and the new government in a more conservative direction.
