It would only take ONE question, Can Muslims assimilate into a democratic society and abide by laws put forth by that society?. No wonder they get upset.....
Posted on 02/10/2006 4:22:03 PM PST by aculeus
The cafe Fleck und Speck is as cosmopolitan as Stuttgart gets.
During an evening there, I meet a Kurd, a Serbian Jew, and a German whose curly black hair betrays his Mexican heritage.
This is the multicultural dream that Germany's Left has promoted for decades - but which not everyone shares.
The Christian Democrat-led government of Baden-Wuerttemberg, of which Stuttgart is the capital, has just introduced new "discussion guidelines" which have sparked national controversy.
They consist of 30 questions which can be put to applicants for German citizenship to see if they share democratic values. But they have been strongly attacked as aimed against the state's large Turkish community - and dubbed "the Muslim test".
"This measure - the so-called discussion guidelines - means that I cannot imagine applying for German citizenship in the near future," says Sueheyla Ince, a local lawyer who was born in Germany but holds a Turkish passport.
"I have to prove, by answering these questions, that I'm a 'good' Muslim," she says, "because it puts all Muslims under a general suspicion of terrorism and insinuates that they're not interested in the values of the German constitution."
The questions, which have been leaked to the German media, cover a range of subjects. A few examples:
How do you view the statement that a woman should obey her husband, and that he can beat her if she doesn't?
You learn that people from your neighbourhood or from among friends or acquaintances have carried out or are planning a terrorist attack - what do you do?
Some people hold the Jews responsible for all the evil in the world, and even claim they were behind the attacks of 11 September 2001 in New York. What is your view of this claim?
Imagine that your son comes to you and declares that he's a homosexual and would like to live with another man. How do you react?
The new measure is the brainchild of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Interior Minister, Heribert Rech.
"When there are doubts about an applicant's values, the easiest thing is for an official to have a talk with him - but not a talk about the weather or about football," he says.
"It needs to be about his view of our constitution, of tolerance, of sexual equality, or of the state's monopoly on the use of violence. Only with these questions can we come close to finding the answers we need."
Languages
An opinion poll found 76% of Germans agree. This country has around three million Muslim inhabitants - mostly Turkish, with Bosnians making up the next largest group, followed by people of Arab origin.
Since 11 September 2001, which was partly planned and carried out by Muslim students based in Hamburg, these communities have been viewed with suspicion.
There have been controversies over headscarf bans (also first introduced in Baden-Wuerttemberg) and over so-called "honour killings" of Muslim women by family members.
There is also currently a row over a Berlin school that has banned the use of languages other than German in the playground.
But many politicians have said the "discussion guidelines" merely pander to popular stereotypes of Muslims.
"Mr Rech is creating a problem which does not exist," says Cem Ozdemir, a Green Party MEP from Baden-Wuerttemberg.
"I would wish that we live in a world where everybody is accepting equal rights for gays and lesbians, where everybody fully understands the need for equal rights for men and women and so on.
"But unfortunately that is not the case - and it's not only a problem of migrants from Muslim countries. It's a problem of Christians and people who are already citizens of Germany."
Stuttgart's Turkish community is organising a petition drive and demonstrations. But it is going to be an uphill battle.
A motion condemning the new measure, tabled by the Greens in the Bundestag, was defeated. Many politicians have voiced support for the guidelines, and the neighbouring state of Hessen is now considering following Baden-Wuerttemberg's lead.
Story from BBC NEWS:
Published: 2006/02/10 08:35:27 GMT
© BBC MMVI
Waste of time...muslimes have no problem with telling lies.
I also agree with it. But I also have to recognize that, depending upon how you defined certain questions, I personally might not qualify either. And you also have to recognize that the answers they want are transparently obvious. Anyone could mask his true opinions to pass this test.
Are you forgetting that being a "good" Muslim means you can/must lie to all infidels? Despite those questions making sense to the Western world, having them answer questions is just a waste of time for all.
Just hire Israeli interviewers of passengers who fly El Al.
They are experts at identifying liars and terrorists.
Not a job for amateurs.
It would only take ONE question, Can Muslims assimilate into a democratic society and abide by laws put forth by that society?. No wonder they get upset.....
Right. Which is why our military, CIA, etc., never ask a moslem prisoner a single question.
Hint: Some people may be good liars, but some other people are good liar-detectors. The latter are frequently found among professional interrogators.
"... means that I cannot imagine applying for German citizenship.."
I am sure that Germany is sooo sad.
Whatever they are. They pick me out as a terrorist every time I fly in or out of Israel. One time they even took my laptop and never gave it back. I am a 5 foot, 100 lb American female. I don't appeciate their "expertise".
They really need to ask only one question: Are you muslim?
ping
Use a tanning lotion before your next trip.
The Jew question is what really gets them. It'll be so hard for most Muslims to keep a straight face in front of that one.
How often do you fly to Israel?
[This article was published in the 18th issue of Nida'ul Islam
magazine (http://www.islam.org.au), April - May 1997]
Preserving The
Islamic Identity in The West
Threats & Solutions
Should they gain the upper hand over you, they would behave to you as enemies, and stretch forth their hands and their tongues against you with evil, and they desire that you should disbelieve. [Al-Mumtahinah 60:2]
The Islamic identity of Muslims in Australia is rapidly being dissolved in the melting pot of this society. Clearly our identity is under threat as we see our ideologies, beliefs and manners give way to the ideologies, beliefs and manners of the Kuffar. The preservation of the Islamic identity has become a challenge rather than something we can take for granted. What makes this challenge unique, however, is that there is no Islamic leadership, no Caliphate and no country in which protection or guidance can be sought.
For a multitude of reasons, most of which are not in accordance with Islam, Muslims have been flocking to non-Muslim countries. Some come as refugees, many come for a better standard of living, o thers to get education, be near to their relatives, and some for Da' wah. The result of this is a new problem which has not existed for centuries - Muslims are being exposed, on an unprecedented scale to non-Muslim cultures and beliefs. In fact, many are n ow born in these countries, and instead of being raised with a sound Islamic identity, many are taking the Christian values of their 'adopted home'. It is of little surprise that we see many Muslims turn from Islam in later life.
This article aims to expose some of the sources of misguidance for Muslims living amongst the Kuffar, as well as some solutions and defences we can employ.
The Islamic Identity
Firstly, it is necessary to define what is meant by the term "Islamic identity" . The Islamic Identity is taken to mean the way of life of the Muslim - an all-encompassing set of beliefs, practices and ideologies as derived from the Qur'an and the example of Muhammad (s.a.w). The Islamic identity is that which separates us from the Kuffar.
read more...
http://web.archive.org/web/20041024220339/http://www.islam.org.au/articles/18/identity.htm.old
These are extraordinary times. It calls for extraordinary measures.
Works for me. Of course, they could lie on the test.
Recently, not too much. But I spent a year of grad school in Cairo then went on to work for about a year in Jerusalem. Maybe it was the Arab stamps in my passport, but they were dumping out my suitcase and sniffing in my shampoo bottle while planeloads of Arabs went on by. So much for the "racial profiling" in Israel!
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