New Approaches to Muslim Engagement: A View from Germany

Almost five years after the the launch of the German Islam Conference, the country was caught up in a fierce debate about the role of Muslims in the country, with polls showing that Germans view Muslims more negative than any other European nation. The popular approval of Thilo Sarrazin’s anti-Muslim book Germany Does Away With Itself revealed that many Germans saw Islam in their midst as a foreign element, if not an existential threat to their way of life. Yet, the problems commonly associated with Muslim migrants had nothing to do with ordinary Islam and the day-to-day lives of the overwhelming majority of Germany’s 4 million Muslims, but are rather rooted in the deprivation of a good education and a system that fosters inequalities and restricts social mobility. The German Islam Conference had succeeded in initiating many useful steps to meet the demands and challenges of an increasingly diverse and multi-religious society. But more work remained to be done if Germany was to overcome its demographic hurdles and achieve long-term social cohesion among its citizens.