A former member of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democrats has formed a party to attract voters enthralled by Thilo Sarrazin and disappointed by Germany’s existing parties. Berlin politician René Stadkewitz’s new Freedom Party aims to leverage fear of Islam for political … Continue reading
An Islamic centre in Berlin was hit by an arson attack on Thursday, with an assailant hurling a petrol bomb against the building’s facade. It was the third such incident involving a Muslim building in the capital in a fortnight. … Continue reading
A politician in Germany’s main centre-left party has sparked outcry within his Social Democrats (SPD) by coming to the defence of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), who have been compared to the Nazis. Hans Pueschel, a longstanding SPD mayor … Continue reading
Geert Wilders’ interview with Der Spiegel, in which he accused Angela Merkel of “copying” his own anti-Islam rhetoric, has already attracted attention. Spiegel Online has now published an English translation of the interview. On the subject of Merkel’s attack on multiculturalism, … Continue reading
Daniel Pipes files an enthusiastic report from the founding conference of René Stadtkewitz’s right-wing Freedom Party: “The new party, whose slogan is ‘The party for more freedom and democracy’, speaks candidly about Islam, Islamism, Islamic law, and Islamization. Starting with … Continue reading
The acrid immigration debate sparked this summer by former Bundesbank board member Thilo Sarrazin has apparently had an effect on the German public. A poll released on Wednesday showed that one-tenth want a “Führer”, while one-quarter admitted to strong xenophobic … Continue reading
Outraged Turkish groups and German politicians on Monday demanded an apology from Horst Seehofer after the conservative Bavarian state premier suggested over the weekend Germany put a stop to immigration for Turks and Arabs. Seehofer, who belongs to the CSU, … Continue reading
There’s big money to be made in promoting bigotry against Muslims. The Berliner Morgenpost reports that Thilo Sarrazin has become a millionaire thanks to booming sales of his anti-Islam book Deutschland schafft sich ab.
A majority of Germans believe the country’s roughly four million Muslims are an economic burden, a poll showed Thursday, adding further fire to a raging immigration debate in Europe’s top economy. The survey, by the Allensbach Institute for the Financial … Continue reading
Writing in Der Spiegel, Erich Follath assesses the impact of Thilo Sarrazin and his anti-Muslim co-thinkers: “Their efforts are having an effect, and are bringing about changes in Germany. The changes aren’t sufficiently dramatic to jeopardize democracy right away, but … Continue reading