BERLIN, May 25, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Despite a variety of obstacles to their integration, German Muslims have proved their mettle in the integration test and have come a long way over the past few years, a Muslim activist told IOL Wednesday, May 25.

“Though the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) (known for its anti-Muslim stands) won elections of the largest regional state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), , German Muslims are willing to cooperate and enter into a dialogue [with the party] for the common good of NRW Muslims, in particular, and the German Muslims in general,” Nadim Elias, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany, said.

He added Europe’s politics are based on plurality and competition between parties of different leanings and agendas, including Muslim minorities.

“We as Muslims try to cope with the different parties to gain a political weight to achieve our goals,” Elias said. “But Muslims are required to understand the rules of the political game, which requires self-confidence and openness.”

Established in 1994, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany is an umbrella organization grouping more than 19 Muslim societies in Germany and supervising 500 mosques in the country.

It further serves as a liaison office with German authorities at all levels.

The leading Muslim figure further stressed that German Muslims took the initiative more than 30 years ago and called for an inter-faith dialogue.

“Now, we (German Muslims) are engaged in a dialogue with up to 15 religious institutions, which refute claims by some officials and politicians that Muslims are isolated and reject dialogue,” Elias said.

“German Muslims, out of their own will, have further called for using German in Friday Sermons as part of their integrationist efforts.”

Elias, however, said German Muslims refuse to be instructed to use German in their mosques and religious institutions, referring to a call by Annette Schavan, the Christian Democratic education minister for the state of Baden-Württemberg, to deliver Muslim sermons in German.

The Muslim activist said German Muslims are mulling the launch of Islamic satellite channels and radio stations to give untwisted information about a much-stereotyped Islam.

“But for the time being, there are dozens of Islamic Web sites coming out from Germany,” he said.

Last December, German Muslim youths set up a Kiosk in Hamburg to educate the German about Islam.

The Muslim activist further said that German Muslims are also keen on speaking in unison vis-à-vis their problems and pressing issues.

“Some 80 percent of German Muslim youths were born and raised in Germany, and are fully aware of the country’s culture and its history."

Elias maintained that German Muslims pursue legal channels to get their rights, including equal job opportunities, holidays in their major religious feasts and sheep sacrifice in Eid Al-Adha.

Famed German researcher Jurgen Micksch said last month that German Muslims showed an inclination to abide by the German constitution.

But Micksch added that a number of restrictions have hampered Muslims' integration march, including discrimination against hijab-clad women with banning the headscarf in some states like Baden-Wuerttemberg, Saarland and Niedersachsen.

Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity. There are some 3.4 million Muslims in the country, including 220,000 in Berlin. An estimated two thirds of the minority are of Turkish origin.

But Elias regretted that German authorities have embarked recently on a string of racist raids on mosques and Islamic institutions, which left the minority highly frustrated.

“Though we agreed to legal amendments in September allowing mosque searches and banning illegal organizations, to purge the Muslim minority from those who tarnish the image of Islam, up to 200 mosques, homes, offices have been searched since 2003,” he said.

Authorities, he added, speak about only 200 violence-inciting Muslims, which is nothing compared to the Muslim population in the country.

Elias said in some cases imams are held in custody and face grilling questions without any specific charge.

A new immigration law adopted in January has, in effect, given an impetus to the deportation drive, which primarily targeted tens of Muslims so far.

Days after the law went into effect, German states rushed to prepare lists of thousands of Muslim immigrants -- whom the German authorities dubbed as suspects -- for immediate deportation.

In March, Berlin's Federal Administrative Supreme Court has upheld a district court ruling that ordered the expulsion of an imam for “inciting violence.”