On Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:32:10 -0700 (PDT), xxarag@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>On 17 Apr, 08:21, "Heinrich" <Heinr...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> www.spiegel.de. . .
>>
>> In Germany, Islam is often equated with fundamentalism and fanaticism,
>
>WHICH IS TRUE AS YOU KNOW BY YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE!
>
>> perception that imposes a heavy burden on the country's 3 million
Muslims.
>> Their relationship to Western society is divided between integration
and
>> sometimes self-imposed exclusion.
>
>NO INTEGRATION AT ALL "SPIEGEL" IS TO POLITICALY CORECT! THE MUZZIES
>WISH ONLY THE SHARIA!
YES XXARAG! AND SOON ALL OF THE LANCSHIRE WILL BE UNDER THE SHARIA!
FUCK YOU!!
ELI
>
>>
>> The name of the salon is German -- Goldene Finger (Golden Fingers) --
but
>> the services it offers are listed in the window in Arabic and Turkish.
In
>> the front of the shop, 40-year-old Palestinian Toufic al-Rifae gives
men
>> haircuts and trims their beards. Veiled women disappear into a back
section
>> behind a curtain, where female hairdressers do their hair and, using
thick
>> lines of the traditional Middle Eastern cosmetic preparation known as
kohl,
>> apply their makeup in the Arab style.
>>
>> Diagonally across the street, Ris A, a restaurant specializing in
grilled
>> meats, advertises its poultry as "halal," or slaughtered according to
>> Islamic religious rules. The place is reminiscent of a McDonald's
fast-food
>> restaurant, with its colorful plastic tables and chairs and tiled
floor. In
>> an open kitchen in the corner, 72 chickens are being roasted over coals
on a
>> large rotating grate. The name of the restaurant, explains the owner, a
>> 35-year-old Lebanese man, "means in Islam: 'What Allah has bestowed
upon
>> me'."
>>
>> Al Sundus is a shop specializing in "Arab lingerie," Arab water pipes,
known
>> as shishas, are bubbling away in the El Salam café and neighborhood
bakeries
>> sell rectangular cakes coated in white cream or decorated with bright
green
>> pistachios. One Middle Eastern business after another lines the
northern end
>> of Sonnenallee, a prominent street in Berlin's Neukölln neighborhood.
>>
>> For some, Sonnenallee is a colorful, quirky shopping street. Others
refer to
>> it derisively as the Gaza Strip.
>>
>> Most businesses that are not in the hands of Arabs are Turkish-owned:
Mehmet
>> Özçelik's bakery, which sells sweet baklava; a Turkish Airlines travel
>> agency; the supermarket run by Nazik Balabanoglu and her husband Ergin;
the
>> funeral home owned by Mustafa Mutlu, whose employee Islam Cenaze
Servisi
>> makes arrangements to send the bodies of deceased Muslims to their
native
>> countries or organizes their funerals in an Islamic cemetery next to
the
>> grand Sehitlik Mosque on Berlin's Columbiadamm Street. The unemployed
Turks
>> killing time at the Taxi Café call the neighborhood "Little Istanbul."
>>
>> Being able to speak German is not a requirement for daily life in this
>> immigrant neighborhood, where the street scene is one of bearded men
wearing
>> knit caps and women in headscarves. Not all businesses are Turkish or
>> Arabic, however. German senior citizens congregate on Tuesdays for
dance
>> evenings at Zum Ambrosius, one of Berlin's traditional corner pubs,
which
>> seems exotic in this environment. But even this traditional German
>> establishment was recently purchased by a man of Lebanese descent.
>>
>> Some would call the souk in downtown Berlin picturesque. The Neukölln
>> Museum, an institution run by the district administration, now offers
guided
>> tours through the Muslim "kiez" or "hood." Abeer Arif, an Iraqi-born
German
>> citizen, is in charge of the "Oriental Tour of Discovery."
>>
>> But there is also something oppressive and ghetto-like about this
Middle
>> Eastern business district in the middle of Germany's most densely
populated
>> Muslim neighborhood.
>>
>> The Neukölln district is home to 300,000 people, and half of them live
in
>> the northern part that Sonnenallee runs through. One-third of
Neukölln's
>> population are immigrants -- including about 60,000 Muslims, who are
>> concentrated almost exclusively in the northern section.
>>
>> There are 20 mosques in Neukölln alone, out of about 80 in all of
Berlin.
>> Few of these houses of worship are recognizable as such from the
outside.
>> Most are reached through gates or rear courtyards, where former
workshops
>> and factory buildings have been converted to prayer rooms with colorful
>> patterned carpets laid out on the floor. Sweets, tea and soft drinks
are
>> sold in adjacent shops.
>>
>> Neukölln, like a specimen under a microscope, is proof positive of
something
>> that is slowly dawning on the rest of the country: Islam, this
mysterious
>> religion, both fascinating and alarming, has gained a foothold in
Germany,
>> which is now home to more than 3 million Muslims. But the close
proximity
>> between long-established Germans and outlandish Muslims is also a
potential
>> source of conflict, triggering resentment and fear on both sides.
>>
>> Since the religiously motivated terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington
>> on Sept. 11, 2001, many Germans perceive the faith in Allah principally
as a
>> threat. There are growing fears that jihadists will begin launching
attacks
>> and suicide bombings in Germany, fears fueled in part by repeated
warnings
>> coming from German security agencies. Amid such fears, suspicion is
easily
>> extended to include the entirety of the Muslim faithful, despite the
fact
>> that there are likely no more than a few hundred Muslims promoting
terror in
>> Germany.
>>
>> These suspicions, in turn, prompt many Muslims to feel excluded and
rejected
>> by the German majority. Federal Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble
sees
>> this as one of the central challenges of integration policy. "Muslims
are
>> part of society and our common future," Schäuble, a member of the
>> conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), stressed at a February
>> conference on the image of Islam in Germany. The difficulty, Schäuble
>> pointed out, lies in the public's growing tendency to equate Islam with
>> fundamentalism and fanaticism.
>>
>> Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hasn't exactly helped the
cause
>> of integration with his recent rhetoric. Speaking to a cheering crowd
of
>> close to 20,000 Turks, some of them already naturalized German
citizens, at
>> the Cologne Arena two weeks before the February conference, Erdogan
warned
>> his fellow Turks against going too far in their efforts to integrate.
"No
>> one can expect you to subject yourselves to assimilation," he said.
"Because
>> assimilation is a crime against humanity."
>>
>> No one had asked the Turks to submit to assimilation, the total removal
of
>> cultural and religious identity. But the consequences of a refusal to
be
>> integrated into majority German society are all too apparent in the
>> neighborhoods surrounding Sonnenallee in Neukölln.
>>
>> The area is the epitome of a troubled neighborhood. One in two
residents are
>> unemployed. The number of robberies and assaults has more than tripled
since
>> 1990.
>>
>> Neukölln is a good place to experience the "parallel society"
firsthand. It
>> was the district's mayor, Heinz Buschkowsky, 59, a committed Social
>> Democrat, who first voiced this taboo term -- and who was promptly
>> criticized for his supposed violation of political correctness.
Irritated
>> Berlin sociology professor Hartmut Häussermann was quick to inform the
local
>> politician that it would be preferable to refer to the Muslim
immigrants as
>> an "ethnic colony." "Now would you call that a more pleasant term?"
>> Buschkowsky asked in response.
>>
>> The term "parallel society" is part of a "semantics of panic" that
>> generalizes conspicuous exceptions, says Klaus J. Bade, a historian and
>> expert on immigration from Osnabrück in northwestern Germany. At best,
says
>> Bade, German immigration policy, which was "long opposed to
integration,"
>> drives immigrants into enclaves. "A reluctant immigration country
shouldn't
>> be too surprised to find that its immigrants are sometimes reluctant
>> themselves."
>>
>> There is some truth to that. For decades, few in Germany grappled with
the
>> issue of the country's new Muslim residents and citizens. "Neither the
>> majority society nor the immigrants themselves saw any need to be
interested
>> in one another and develop rules of behavior for living together,"
writes
>> Middle East expert Michael Lüders in his book "The Long Shadow of
Allah."
>> "Both sides assumed that their interaction would only be temporary."
>>
>> When it began recruiting "guest workers" in the early 1960s, Germany
>> expected them to remain in the country for a limited period of time and
then
>> return home. Back in Turkey, the "gurbetci," as overseas Turks willing
to
>> return home are called in Turkish, became accustomed to a system in
which
>> other Turks were expected to go to Germany in their place.
>>
>> But the first-generation workers decided to stay in Germany,
establishing
>> new families and bringing their Turkish relatives to live with them.
There
>> are about 2.7 million people of Turkish origin living in Germany today,
and
>> about 800,000 of them are German citizens.
>>
>> For years, Germany has also attracted Muslim immigrants from other
>> countries, especially from Bosnia, Iran, Morocco, Afghanistan, Iraq and
>> Lebanon. It is hard to know exactly how many Muslims now live in
Germany,
>> though, because immigration authorities do not ask immigrants to state
their
>> religious affiliation and because Islam lacks a system of registered
>> membership. For this same reason, Muslim congregations are unable to
specify
>> how many members they have.
>>
>> According to the German Islam Conference (DIK), there are about 3.4
million
>> Muslims in Germany today, making Islam the country's second-largest
religion
>> after Christianity and Muslims part of everyday German life. They have
>> brought Allah, their god, to Almanya, the word for their new home in
Germany
>> in both Turkish and Arabic.
>>
>> The diversity of the various persuasions within Islam is as unclear as
the
>> number of Muslims. Political scientist Stefan Luft, of the northern
German
>> port city of Bremen, stresses that the immigrants are "no homogeneous
group,
>> neither in a religious, ethnic, political or cultural sense." The
spectrum,
>> says Luft, ranges from relatively cosmopolitan Bosnians and Westernized
>> academics from cities like Istanbul and Tehran, to conservative
Anatolian
>> farmers and militant Islamists from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan.
>>
>> The vast majority of Muslim immigrants live largely inconspicuous lives
>> among their long-established German neighbors. Nevertheless, many
Germans
>> have trouble accepting the gradual changes in their society and being
in
>> physical contact with a culture shaped by the rules of the Koran. This
is
>> because Islam, says author Lüders, "is both a religion and a way of
life for
>> devout Muslims."
>>
>> More and more Germans equate Islam with fundamentalism, a tendency
toward
>> violence and oppression of women. "Perceptions were already negative in
past
>> years," a 2006 study by the Allensbach opinion research organization
>> concluded, "but they have recently become noticeably more ominous."
>> According to the Allensbach study, 98 percent of Germans associate
Islam
>> with violence and terrorism, while only six percent express sympathy
with
>> Islam. Sixty-one percent do not believe that Islam can peacefully
coexist
>> with Christianity, while 83 percent consider Muslims to be religious
>> fanatics.
>>
>> Ironically, many Muslims in Germany "tend to be lax when it comes to
>> religion," says Katajun Amirpur, a Berlin expert on Islamic studies.
>> According to Amirpur, religion "doesn't play a very dominant role" in
their
>> daily life, and yet they would characterize themselves as devout
Muslims --
>> even if they "occasionally drink a glass of Arrak or Raki" and
"sometimes
>> forget one prayer or another." They are easily their Christian fellow
>> citizens' equals when it comes to disobeying the commandments of their
>> faith.
>>
>> Nevertheless, a new religious zeal appears to be taking shape among
Muslims.
>> The Center for Turkish Studies, based in the western German city of
Essen,
>> has studied the religious attachments of immigrants of Turkish descent
for
>> many years. In 2000, only eight percent of respondents described
themselves
>> as "strictly religious." Within five years, that number had increased
to 28
>> percent.
>>
>> "Our anti-Islamic reflex," wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung in an
editorial,
>> overlooks the fact "that the factors that are truly of concern are
mainly
>> secular and not religious factors: the establishment of a parallel
society
>> that lives according to insular rules; the above-average birth rate of
>> immigrants; finally, the authoritarian, male-dominated structure in
their
>> families."
>>
>> The district mayor of Neukölln knows a thing or two about that. "I'm
not
>> qualified to talk about whether Islam belongs in Europe. That's for
others
>> to discuss," he says. Instead, he prefers to talk about ordinary,
day-to-day
>> problems: about fathers who forbid their daughters from taking part in
>> swimming lessons and class trips; and about 18-year-old women who are
flown
>> in from Turkey as "imported brides, because the patriarch doesn't like
the
>> enlightened female Turkish bank employee from Neukölln."
>>
>> Muslim immigrants' traditional values are reinforced by media outlets
>> controlled by their countries of origin. Driving from Neukölln to
>> neighboring Kreuzberg, Berlin's legendary multicultural district, one
passes
>> through the Kottbusser Tor neighborhood. The area's large square is
>> surrounded by multistory apartment blocks inhabited almost exclusively
by
>> Turkish families. There is a satellite dish on almost every balcony.
>>
>> More than 40 Turkish-language stations are now available in Germany.
The
>> Arab-language selection, watched in private households, cafés and
cultural
>> institutions, is only slightly less diverse.
>>
>> Popular and relatively harmless options include Turkish entertainment
>> channels like Kanal D, ATV and Show TV, with their soaps and music
videos.
>> More problematic is the religious content of channels like the
Saudi-based
>> Iqra and of some programs broadcast by Al-Manar, a television station
>> operated by Hezbollah in Lebanon. TV5, a channel closely aligned with
Milli
>> Görüs, an influential Islamist organization in Germany, recently aired
a
>> Turkish version of the anti-Semitic Iranian series "Zarah's Blue Eyes."
>>
>> Television preachers like 81-year-old Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi
have
>> found an attentive ear, especially among young Muslims. Al-Jazeera, the
TV
>> network based in Qatar, broadcasts his sermons on legal questions and
>> Islamic morality during prime time every Sunday, as part of its program
>> "Sharia and Life."
>>
>> Qaradawi is considered the leader of a modern Islamism. He clings to
the
>> traditional concept of marriage, and even to the right to cane
>> "insubordinate" wives, and yet he encourages women to enter politics.
He
>> recommends an Islamic but open life, one that includes computers, films
and
>> music, but he also provides advice on the correct way to wear the veil.
>>
>> His ambivalent teachings are also well received in Germany. In her book
>> "Between Pop and Jihad," journalist Julia Gerlach writes that among
Muslims
>> in Germany, "a new youth culture has developed in which it is not seen
as a
>> contradiction to be a devout Muslim and a good German citizen. Pop
Muslims
>> may seem cool in terms of their behavior, but they are rarely liberal."
>>
>> Their music idols express themselves just as ambivalently. Muhabbet
(his
>> real name is Murat Ersen), a 23-year-old German-Turkish pop star who
>> specializes in Middle Eastern soul ("R 'n' Besk"), was celebrated as a
>> poster child of successful integration -- until he sparked controversy
with
>> his ambiguous comments on the murder of Dutch film director Theo van
Gogh.
>>
>> Last November, Muhabbet recorded a song in a Kreuzberg studio with
German
>> Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart,
Bernard
>> Kouchner, with the provocative refrain: "Germany, why do you close
yourself
>> off? Germany, put your cards on the table. Do you think I will give in,
do
>> you think I won't resist, and do you think that I will calmly and
silently
>> lay myself down on your floor?"
>>
>> The most well known rapper in Islamic pop culture in Germany calls
himself
>> "Ammar 114." The number is a reference to a sura in the Koran about
recourse
>> to Allah in times of danger and strife. The 28-year-old artist was born
in
>> Ethiopia, comes from a Christian family and converted to Islam.
>>
>> Ammar's lyrics are often very religious, but they also reflect what the
>> Frankfurt newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau calls "a sizzling blend of
hostile
>> emotions." His song "Wir sind Deutschland!" ("We are Germany!") can be
>> interpreted as a furious comment on the public debate over the
integration
>> of Muslims: "We are Germany, sure, we're part of it. And it's time we
>> finally got our rights."
>>
>> As morally indignant young Muslims turn away from what they view as
decadent
>> German culture, some are cultivating feelings of superiority. While
their
>> immigrant parents and grandparents tried to assimilate, at least on the
>> surface, some young Muslims deliberately flaunt the fact that they are
>> different by wearing strict Islamic clothing in public.
>>
>> The young, criminal Muslims whose acts of violence are so often in the
news
>> are rebelling against the majority society in their own way. They
berate the
>> victims of their brutal attacks as "shit Germans" and "pig-eaters,"
even to
>> the point of occasionally abusing a police officer of Turkish descent
as a
>> "shit Christian." Günter Piening, the integration commissioner for the
state
>> government in Berlin, believes that "processes of identity development"
are
>> behind the insults, and that Muslim thugs are simply acting out the
rappers'
>> violent lyrics.
>>
>> Over in trendier Kreuzberg, "where they discuss the global situation
over a
>> glass of Veuve Cliquot" and where "the intellectual leftist bourgeoisie
has
>> created its very own enclave," as Neukölln district mayor Buschkowsky
says
>> derisively, many still believe in an "ideal multicultural world," even
>> though, as he claims, that world doesn't even exist in diverse
Kreuzberg.
>>
>> Buschkowsky prefers to embrace the "fundamental principle" of Ferdinand
>> Lassalle, one of the original founders of the party that became today's
>> center-left German Social Democrats (SPD): "Every political action
begins
>> with articulating the way things are now." In keeping with this
doctrine,
>> Buschkowsky, in addition to establishing language centers and hiring
>> immigrant trainees to work in his administration, has helped launch a
unique
>> nationwide project sponsored by the Diakonisches Werk, the charity
>> organization of the German Protestant Church, which won the Prevention
Award
>> of the Berlin State Commission against Violence last autumn.
>>
>> Under the program, "neighborhood mothers" -- youthful mothers of
Turkish or
>> Arabic descent -- visit young immigrant families to offer them advice
on
>> issues of health and raising children. The program's organizers hope
that
>> the neighborhood mothers, who have experienced the feeling of being an
>> outsider and the difficult process of integration firsthand, will be
able to
>> get through to those who would normally be difficult to reach.
>>
>> There are currently 80 neighborhood mothers in Neukölln, and the
program
>> includes plans for 200. The women spend six months being trained for
their
>> task. Each neighborhood mother visits two families each month. Each
family
>> gets 10 home visits, and each visit lasts between one-and-a-half and
two
>> hours.
>>
>> Güler Savran, 34, a beautician by trade, is one of the neighborhood
mothers.
>> She lives in Neukölln's Rollberg neighborhood and is familiar with the
>> area's problems: that violence plays a major role in many families,
that
>> only one in two children attends daycare and that women are not
permitted to
>> make any decisions without their husbands.
>>
>> Many families are afraid of government agencies and institutions. Many
fear
>> that the youth welfare office is trying to spy on them or even take
away
>> their children. To allay such fears, Savran makes it clear in her first
>> meeting with a family that she doesn't work for the youth welfare
office.
>>
>> "Most of the questions are about food," says neighborhood mother
Djamila
>> Boumekik, a 31-year-old Algerian native. Many Muslims fear that their
>> children are being forced to eat pork in daycare centers, or they
believe
>> that the only purpose of daycare is to provide their children with food
and
>> a place to sleep. "When I hear that, I tell them that the kids go on
little
>> outings, and that they do handicrafts, paint and play games," says
Boumekik.
>> Besides, she adds, daycare helps children learn German
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