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Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière Calls for Improving Muslim Participation in German Society (May 17, 2010)

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In the context of the Islam Conference, I understand integration in a broad sense:

– It encompasses, on the one hand, the participation of Muslims and their organizations in forms of cooperation that stem from the German constitutional law on religion. It encompasses, for example, the introduction of Islamic theology or Islamic religious instruction – also against the backdrop of the institutional recognition of Islam as a religious community. I call this the institutional or structural integration of Islam.

– But integration also encompasses, on the other hand, the deepening of a common consensus on shared values based on our Basic Law. Here, joint action against extremism, radicalization, and social polarization are of crucial importance. Likewise, forced marriages cannot be tolerated in our country. In my mind, social integration is of essential importance in ensuring that structural integration succeeds as well and is borne by the people in our country. My expectation of our Muslim partners in the Islam Conference is that they also take an active interest in these issues.

But there is no sequence here in the sense of: “First we’ll occupy ourselves with institutional and then with social integration.” If there were, then I would view this as wrong. We must pursue both processes simultaneously.

Participation also means assuming responsibility – responsibility also to protect the basic value system of our constitution against extremisms that seek to eliminate it. Here, Muslims in Germany can play an especially important role in confronting that brand of extremism that invokes Islam for goals that are hostile to the constitution – the so-called Islamism. I say “so-called” because there is a debate about terminology, and some might prefer to speak of fundamentalism or extremism. Therefore, perhaps it would be a good idea to compile a kind of glossary of these divergent viewpoints, in order to illustrate the perspectives upon which they are based.

Muslims have a special power of persuasion when it comes to rejecting distorted images of Islam, both in their personal milieu and in public discussion. Therefore, they are also called on in a special way.

This is a justified expectation by society, but also of society, and I, too, call for such engagement. This involves not only the rejection of terrorist violence, but also of extremist ideology, including its images of the enemy. This sort of publicly visible and committed engagement with and clear separation from Islamism is, in my view, the necessary foundation for a greater acceptance of Islam within the majority society. Assuming responsibility for upholding our value system is the best contribution to integration.

During the first phase of the Islam Conference, the foundations of our dialogue were laid. Now we want to make the Islam Conference more practical and take it to the streets, schools, mosques, and kitchen tables.

At the outset, we want to make clear to ourselves what the Islam Conference is and what it can concretely achieve:

– The Islam Conference is, first of all, not a representative for all Muslims in Germany.

– Likewise, it is not a “religious seminar” that can make decisions about religious content.

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