Berlin // The head of Germany's 2.5 million strong Turkish community has accused the government of Angela Merkel, the chancellor, of obstructing the integration of immigrants and playing on public fears of Islam to make political gains. Kenan Kolat said the introduction this month of a questionnaire on German history and culture for people seeking citizenship would deter many from applying for German nationality.
The citizenship test was the latest in a series of measures that had made applications for German nationality more difficult, said Mr Kolat, adding that this trend reflected a general reluctance to embrace the 15m people with an immigrant background living in Germany. He also criticised Mrs Merkel for saying in 2007 that mosque domes in Germany should not be built higher than church towers, and for backing a divisive regional election campaign by her conservative party in January that called for severe measures to fight "criminal young foreigners".
"Politicians continue to exploit immigration for their domestic political purposes," said Mr Kolat, chairman of the Turkish Community in Germany, one of the country's main immigrant associations. "I was disappointed in Merkel." He said Germany's ban on dual citizenship for most immigrants was a further obstacle to integration. "It stems in part from historical fears of Turks but is also linked to Islamophobia in Germany and across Europe after the September 11 attacks," Mr Kolat said.
His comments come ahead of a controversial "Anti-Islamisation Conference" starting on Friday organised by a far-right group in the city of Cologne to protest against Muslim immigration and the construction of mosques. The organiser of the conference, a group called "Pro-Cologne", campaigned against the city's recent decision to allow the construction of a large new mosque with two 55-metre tall minarets. "Mosques are shooting out of the ground like mushrooms, the muezzin call and headscarves are flooding our streets," Pro-Cologne says on its website.
Prominent members of Europe's far right, including French "Front National" leader Jean-Marie le Pen, have said they will attend the meeting, which has drawn fierce criticism from German politicians and provoked anger in Islamic countries. Iran has appealed to France, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, to block the conference and complained that it reflects a "growth of anti-Islamic sentiments in Europe".
Mr Kolat said Germany must do more to combat such tendencies and to integrate its immigrants, which include about three million Muslims, most of them Turks. Germany has the second largest Muslim community in Europe after France. "The rules on gaining citizenship are constantly being tightened. A democratic state with so many people without German citizenship living in it is bound to run into difficulties in the long term. They should be making it easier, not harder," Mr Kolat said.
Of the 15.1m people living in Germany with immigrant origins, some 7.3 million do not have German citizenship even though many of them were born in Germany or have lived there many years. In the 1950s and 1960s, Germany invited foreign "guest workers" from Turkey and Italy to offset a shortage of manpower after the Second World War. They enabled the country to stage its "economic miracle", and many stayed.
Immigrants and their descendants make up almost a fifth of the population but are conspicuous by their absence from the civil service, professional jobs, senior corporate positions and the police force. Most Germans still commonly refer to anyone who does not look German as an "ausländer", or "foreigner", regardless of whether they were born in the country or not. A recent survey by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said Germany's education system puts immigrant children at a disadvantage and fails to teach them adequate German skills. The government has pledged to improve the system.
A UN Committee on racial discrimination said last month it was "regrettable" that so many immigrants who had lived in Germany for many years did not have citizenship. Maria Böhmer, the government commissioner for immigration and integration, rejected criticism of the citizenship test and said it was designed to encourage people to take German nationality. "People who want to become German should know about their rights and duties as citizens and have a basic knowledge of our history, culture and way of life," she said in a statement. "From my point of view there's no alternative to it."
The test was launched on Sep 1 and requires applicants to answer 33 out of a possible 310 multiple choice questions such as "Who was the first German Chancellor of the German Federal Republic?" (Konrad Adenauer) or: "What form of partnership is not allowed in Germany?" (Bigamy.) Applicants must get 17 questions right and can retake the test as often as they choose. "People point out that other countries have such tests as well," Mr Kolat said. "In that case why doesn't Germany also adopt some of the other rules that apply in other countries, such as the Dutch rule allowing immigrants to vote in local elections, or the affirmative action rule in the United States? Germany only adopts the rules that suit it, that's the problem. "
The test is watered-down version of a much-criticised citizenship quiz adopted in 2006 by the conservative-ruled states of Baden-Württemberg and Hesse and explicitly targeted at Muslims. That test included questions on the applicant's attitude to forced marriage, homosexuality and the Sep 11 attacks. "Were the perpetrators terrorists or freedom fighters in your view?" was one question. Mr Kolat said ever since the September 11 attacks Muslim groups were constantly being asked to distance themselves from attacks perpetrated by al Qa'eda. "Why should I keep distancing myself from something I have nothing to do with?"
dcrossland@thenational.ae