German minister affirms that Muslims belong in Germany

Mar 27, 2011, 14:45 GMT

Berlin - Germany's top official for relations with the Islamic community, Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich, affirmed Sunday that Muslims belonged in German society, backing away from earlier remarks that had upset some Muslims.

Friedrich, who took over the interior portfolio earlier this month, was set to chair a meeting with Islamic community leaders on Tuesday.

Speaking of Muslims, who make up 5 per cent of Germany's population, he said: 'The decisive thing for me is that these people belong to this society here.' He was speaking in an interview on Deutschlandfunk public radio.

Friedrich's start as minister had been overshadowed by his remark that anyone seeking evidence in German history that Islam belonged in Germany would find nothing.

Some critics interpreted this as a slight on German Muslims by the minister, whose conservative Bavarian party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), has argued in the past that Muslims do not have the same roots in Germany as Christians and Jews.

The minister said on the radio that such critics were trying to drive a wedge between him and the Islamic community.

'I am here to unite. I would like to make that plain at the Islam Conference,' he said.

The conference is a standing liaison panel, set up in 2006, between Muslim community leaders and interior officials. It has been discussing how the government could aid the community, for example, by paying to train and employ religion teachers.

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