VIENNA,
May 29, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – The central German city of Bonn
plays host in September to a conference bringing together German
officials and Muslim leaders at an initiative from the Interior
Ministry to draw up a "social contract" that helps boost
Muslim integration into society.
"The
proposed social contract seeks to promote mutual understanding between
the German Muslims and the state as we all live in one country,"
Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the weekly Welt am
Sonntag, which hit newsstands on Sunday, May 28.
He
said the contract enhances cooperation between the Muslim minority and
the government, and helps restore mutual confidence.
"The
new contract stresses the importance of respecting German constitution
and the western democratic values," added Schaeuble.
The
minister noted that the document addresses some problems facing
Muslims vis-ŕ-vis practice of religion.
Schaeuble
said the leaders of five leading Muslim organizations in Germany and
10 prominent Muslim figures will be invited to attend the conference
along with 15 German officials.
Islam
comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.
There
are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, two thirds of whom are of
Turkish origin.
Spokesperson
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"The Muslim groups have long suffered because of government marginalization of Muslims," said
Kizilkaya.
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A
host of issues will be tackled during the conference, chiefly the
teaching of Islam in German in Muslim schools under the state
supervision.
Imam
training as well as the role that can be played by the Muslim minority
in fighting extremist ideologies will also top the meeting's agenda.
But
Schaeuble hopes most that the conference would name a spokesperson for
the Muslim minority.
"I
hope that the conference would name a spokesman for the Muslim
minority to become a partner in dialogue with German
authorities," the minister noted.
Three
working groups are expected to be formed at the end of the conference.
The
Interior Ministry has sponsored a mobile exhibition touring the
country to draw the line between Islam as a faith and the practices of
some Muslims.
It
aimed to distinguish between Islam as a religion that preaches peace
and tolerance and parties condoning violence in the name of Islam.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel said late April she planned to meet Muslim leaders in
the country in July as part of her efforts to foster and facilitate
integration of minorities into German society.
Welcome
Muslim
minority leaders have hailed the new German initiative.
"It
is a positive gesture from the government I have to say," Ayman
Mazik, Secretary General of the Higher Muslim Council, told IOL.
He
said the German government has not moved to translate its pledges to
the Muslim minority into action.
Ali
Kizilkaya, chairman of the German Muslim Council, said the
German government at last started talking "to not on" the
Muslim minority.
"The
government initiative encourages us to support integration
plans," he said in recent press statements.
Kizilkaya
said the move will further facilitate the work of Muslim groups in
Germany.
"The
Muslim groups have long suffered because of government marginalization
of Muslims."
Justice
Minister Brigitte Zypries said on May 7 that the Muslim minority in
Germany was suffering from a growing religious discrimination with
many Germans wrongly associating Islam with terrorism.
A
German intelligence report has revealed that only one percent of
Germany’s Muslim population are members of organizations that pose
serious threats to the country’s national security.
Also
Read:
German
Muslims Suffer Religious Discrimination: Minister
German
Exhibition Promotes Peaceful Islam
