A new far-right party in Germany is playing the card of Islam to woo voters, accusing Muslims of failing to integrate into German society.“Islam is far more than a religion,” Rene Stadtkewitz, the leader of the newly established Freedom party, told the Emirati National newspaper on Monday, February 7. “It's an entire model of society that is incredibly binding for many people.”The far-right leader accused Islam of being a threat to the German values, calling it as “the opposite of a free society.”“It's basically a political system with its own legal system that seeks to regulate all aspects of life,” Stadtkewitz, who formed the new Freedom Party last October, said.
“We criticize the socio-political component of Islam, which I see as an ideological one similar to other totalitarian systems, and which I think is dangerous.”
Known for his anti-Islam views, Stadtkewitz was expelled from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative German Christian Democrats (CDU) after hosting Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders.
He has also been critical of the Muslim community in Germany, seeking cooperation with Thilo Sarrazin, a member of Germany’s central bank, who accused Muslim immigrants of undermining the society which is becoming less intelligent because of them.
Germans have grown hostile to the Muslim presence recently, with a heated debate on the Muslim immigration into the country.
A recent poll by the Munster University found that Germans view Muslims more negatively than their European neighbors.
Germany’s daily Der Spiegel had warned last August that the country is becoming intolerant towards its Muslim minority.
Last week, the west-central state of Hesse became the first in Germany to ban the wearing of burqa (face-veil) in public places.
According to government-commissioned studies, Germany has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population.
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Echoing similar far-right movements in Europe, the party’s hostile discourse on Islam is expected to draw more supporters in the coming elections.
“Anyone who criticizes Islam stands in the centre of society,” Stadtkewitz said.
“Islam is becoming more visible in western countries and people are starting to rise up against that.”
Germany has had no populist, anti-Islamic party until recently.
Opinion polls suggest a party such as Freedom could get some 20 percent of the vote in a general election next September, as a recent survey by Berliner Zeitung, a local newspaper, showed as many as one in four Berliners could vote for it.
Stadtkewitz denies accusations of inciting far-right agenda, claiming that his party reflects mainstream views about Islam all across Europe.
“More than 15 million people in Germany are immigrants and most of them have integrated themselves. The problems are mainly with people who have come here from Islamic countries, and that's what we have to tackle.
“We must defend our own values much more strongly and stress that we have a leadership role. That will make integration easier.”
The anti-immigrant sentiment is sweeping political parties all across Europe.
The trend is throwing mainstream centre-right parties that have shied away from tough rhetoric on immigration onto the defensive.
In Sweden, the right-wing Sweden Democrat Party won their first seats in parliament for the first time in the country’s history.
In the Netherlands, the far-right MP Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party won 31 seats of the 150-member parliament in the June elections.
But, the new German party was still struggling to establish itself among rightist European parties.
The party had to cancel its first congress this month after the language school that owned the venue withdrew its permission, rejecting the party's political leanings.
Another news conference on the street was interrupted by a group of demonstrators who surrounded Stadtkewitz chanting “Nazis” and “racists.”
Even more, it failed to recruit prominent Germans to join his cause, and even Sarrazin refused to join the party.
“There is always the desire to tie in really well-known people, and I wouldn't be opposed to that,” Stadtkewitz said.
“But I know we'll make it without them too.”
Known for his anti-Islam views, Stadtkewitz was expelled from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative German Christian Democrats (CDU) after hosting Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders.
He has also been critical of the Muslim community in Germany, seeking cooperation with Thilo Sarrazin, a member of Germany’s central bank, who accused Muslim immigrants of undermining the society which is becoming less intelligent because of them.
Germans have grown hostile to the Muslim presence recently, with a heated debate on the Muslim immigration into the country.
A recent poll by the Munster University found that Germans view Muslims more negatively than their European neighbors.
Germany’s daily Der Spiegel had warned last August that the country is becoming intolerant towards its Muslim minority.
Last week, the west-central state of Hesse became the first in Germany to ban the wearing of burqa (face-veil) in public places.
According to government-commissioned studies, Germany has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population.
Election Dreams
Echoing similar far-right movements in Europe, the party’s hostile discourse on Islam is expected to draw more supporters in the coming elections.
“Anyone who criticizes Islam stands in the centre of society,” Stadtkewitz said.
“Islam is becoming more visible in western countries and people are starting to rise up against that.”
Germany has had no populist, anti-Islamic party until recently.
Opinion polls suggest a party such as Freedom could get some 20 percent of the vote in a general election next September, as a recent survey by Berliner Zeitung, a local newspaper, showed as many as one in four Berliners could vote for it.
Stadtkewitz denies accusations of inciting far-right agenda, claiming that his party reflects mainstream views about Islam all across Europe.
“More than 15 million people in Germany are immigrants and most of them have integrated themselves. The problems are mainly with people who have come here from Islamic countries, and that's what we have to tackle.
“We must defend our own values much more strongly and stress that we have a leadership role. That will make integration easier.”
The anti-immigrant sentiment is sweeping political parties all across Europe.
The trend is throwing mainstream centre-right parties that have shied away from tough rhetoric on immigration onto the defensive.
In Sweden, the right-wing Sweden Democrat Party won their first seats in parliament for the first time in the country’s history.
In the Netherlands, the far-right MP Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party won 31 seats of the 150-member parliament in the June elections.
But, the new German party was still struggling to establish itself among rightist European parties.
The party had to cancel its first congress this month after the language school that owned the venue withdrew its permission, rejecting the party's political leanings.
Another news conference on the street was interrupted by a group of demonstrators who surrounded Stadtkewitz chanting “Nazis” and “racists.”
Even more, it failed to recruit prominent Germans to join his cause, and even Sarrazin refused to join the party.
“There is always the desire to tie in really well-known people, and I wouldn't be opposed to that,” Stadtkewitz said.
“But I know we'll make it without them too.”
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