‘People looking for someone to blame’: Ex-President Wulff warns of rising anti-Muslim sentiments in Germany

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - Germany’s former President Christian Wulff has warned of growing anti-Muslim sentiments in the country, calling for a stronger stance against the xenophobic and racist propaganda of right-wing extremists.

“Some still blame Muslims for completely different problems that have nothing to do with Muslims,” Wulff told Anadolu, adding that the achievements of Muslim immigrants and their contributions to society are largely overlooked by politicians and media outlets.

The Christian Democrat politician served as Germany’s president from 2010 to 2012, and was widely praised by migrants for his inclusive messages and strong stance against the far-right.

In a famous 2010 speech, Wulff said “Islam belongs to Germany” as much as Christianity and Judaism, sparking months-long debate in the country.

More than a decade after his widely debated speech, Wulff said discussions are still going on about Islam’s place in Germany.

“The discussion is much more difficult now than I thought it would be back then, and it is still going on, but in the end a lot has happened,” he said.

“There are now Islamic religious lessons for students of the Muslim faith, religious teachers are being trained here, imams are being trained here, so there are many developments because of the fact that Islam belongs to Germany,” he explained.

He expressed regret that some people still blame migrants and Muslims in Germany for various social and economic problems that have completely different causes.

“The world is becoming less peaceful, things are becoming more complicated, and there are problems of an economic nature. And some people are looking for someone to blame, and unfortunately, some are blaming Muslims for these,” he said, referring to the propaganda of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The AfD, which is known for its anti-Muslim views, has surged in opinion polls in the past couple of years, currently polling at around 22% nationwide.

A group of independent experts recently warned that anti-Muslim sentiment is not a marginal phenomenon anymore and has become widespread in large parts of the German population.

According to their report, which was commissioned by the Interior Ministry, every second person in Germany now agrees with anti-Muslim statements.

- ‘We have to fight the AfD much more resolutely’

Wulff said Germany’s democratic parties and the public should view the threat more seriously, and take a stronger stance against the far-right.

“In all democracies, in the US, in Europe, we are witnessing right-wing extremism, which is based on hostility against foreigners, against minorities, against other religions, and we have to take this very seriously,” he said.

“We have to fight the AfD much more resolutely, and we should also tell this more clearly to the people that we need immigration, that we need the brightest minds from people from all over the world, and that they make a significant contribution to our country.”

The experienced politician underlined that a vast majority of Muslim immigrants in Germany are “well-integrated” and have become part of society, but their achievements are often not appreciated and not properly covered in the media.

With a population of over 84 million people, Germany has the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France. Among the country’s nearly 5.3 million Muslims, 3 million are of Turkish origin.

Wulff said recent studies have shown that Muslims and Islam are generally reported negatively in the context of internal security, or terrorism, which has an impact on public perceptions and attitudes.

“But many areas, the fact that Muslims in our country are well-integrated, they make up a large part of country, are often underreported. The captain of our national football team is of Turkish descent and a Muslim. We have Muslim researchers, scientists. We have many Muslim communities who are doing good things in their respective regions,” he said.

“We have 5,000 soldiers of Muslim faith within the German armed forces. They risk their lives for our country, and all of these have not been clearly communicated with the public.”