Bigotry of German Interior Minister

When you thought that we had seen enough of bigotry in Europe and that Merkel's Germany has been an exception of sort in that part of the 'white world', think again.
The ugly forces of bigotry and intolerance are becoming the new realities of our time. It's not just limited to Hindutvadi India and Buddhist fascists ruling Myanmar. Europe is once again rekindling the old flames of hatred. With powerful backers they are increasingly becoming bolder and stronger and are not at all ashamed of their new fondness with their dark, ugly past that had killed tens of millions in the name of race and religion. The World War II has failed these new bigots and their backers in new Europe.
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Germany’s new interior minister has declared “Islam does not belong to Germany”, directly contradicting Chancellor Angela Merkel in the opening days of her fourth term as the country’s leader.
Horst Seehofer, Germany’s leading security official, made the comments to the Bild newspaper as Ms Merkel’s new coalition combats the rising challenge from the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party, which entered the national parliament in last year’s elections.
Mr Seehofer said his message to Muslims was: “Live with us, not parallel to or against us.”
He added: “The Muslims who live with us are, of course, part of Germany”, going on to say Germany should not give up its own traditions or customs, which had Christianity at their heart.
His Bavaria-only Christian Social Union, which has always taken a harder line on migration than Ms Merkel’s conservative Christian  Democratic Union, faces a state election later this year.
The anti-Islam AfD is relatively strong in Bavaria and some of its legislators welcomed his comments.
Mr Seehofer also put himself at odds with former German president Christian Wulff, who fuelled a debate over immigration in 2010 by saying Islam was part of Germany.
When asked about the interior minister’s comments, Ms Merkel said she stood by her view that while Germany is shaped by its Judeo-Christian heritage, “now there are four million Muslims living in Germany”, a country of about 82 million people.
“They can live their religion here too,” she said. “These Muslims belong to Germany and in the same way their religion belongs to Germany, that is to say Islam.”
She added that Islam practised by Muslims in Germany would have to conform to the country’s constitution.
The government estimates between 4.4 and 4.7 million Muslims are living in Germany. Many of them have a Turkish background and many of the more than a million migrants who have arrived in the country from the Middle East and elsewhere after Ms Merkel adopted an open-door policy in mid-2015 are also Muslims.
The far-left Linke and Greens condemned Mr Seehofer’s words, while the Social Democrats’ Natascha Kohnen told broadcaster n-tv: “Saying that incites people against each other at a time when we really don’t need that. What we really need is politicians who bring people together.”

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