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| Europe | ||
| Most Germans don't have any Muslim friends | ||
| 2016-05-07 | ||
Almost two-thirds of non-Muslim Germans don't know any Muslims personally, a new survey has showed, casting light on increasing unease over the religion's place in society.
Pollsters also found that the number of Muslim friends a person had was closely linked to their level of education. Among those who had graduated from high school with the Abitur academic qualification, 42 percent said they had Muslim friends. But just 28 percent of people who had finished their schooling with only a secondary education certificate could say the same. “Our own surveys also show that higher levels of education go along with greater openness to diversity,” said Cornelia Schu, an expert with the German Foundations for Integration and Migration (SVR).
Public anxiety about Islam has led to increasing calls from politicians in recent weeks to police the religion and its followers. Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) called recently for state surveillance of preachers in all mosques to make sure they weren't spreading radical ideas. And right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has made a ban on minarets, the Muslim call to prayer and full-face veils a key part of its policy platform. More than half of non-Muslims surveyed said that they didn't have much idea about the content of the Muslim religion, while one in five said they knew nothing at all about it. What's more, 84 percent of non-Muslims said they had never been inside a mosque in Germany – although mosques have been holding open days since 1997 in a bid to boost understanding. By contrast, 68 percent of Muslims said that they had good or very good knowledge about Christianity. Around 60 percent of non-Muslims said they had noticed an increased number of Muslims in their everyday life, but most did not report encountering radical minorities. Germany is home to more than four million Muslims. Many arrived in the late 20th Century as so-called “guest workers” - or are relatives of those same migrants. Some also arrived as refugees from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Iraq, while there is a small minority who have converted to Islam. Most Muslims live in western Germany, with only two percent living in the states making up the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) before the refugee crisis began in 2015. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #18 TW, du you know for sure about that? Shipman dear, you are clearly of the younger generation. My parents would have capitalized the Du in direct written address. ;-) |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-05-07 17:34 |
| #17 Rivers of blood - the Z man. |
| Posted by: newc 2016-05-07 16:35 |
| #16 TW, du you know for sure about that? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2016-05-07 15:00 |
| #15 Thing is, I have seen the future. There is nothing there anyone will want. |
| Posted by: newc 2016-05-07 14:11 |
| #14 "You will be assigned a Muslim 'friend'" Posted by: Frank G But your must first attend the gov't sponsored diversity training. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-05-07 14:03 |
| #13 "You will be assigned a Muslim 'friend'" |
| Posted by: Frank G 2016-05-07 11:55 |
| #12 Isn't beng close friends with infidels against Ialam? Unless you at lying to them and are ready to stab them in the back? |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2016-05-07 11:33 |
| #11 @tw You are very right. It takes time to develop true friendships in Germany. The South is more outgoing, but the rule still apply. Once friendship has been earned it's often forever. It happens that Germans get invited to a Turkish wedding, and they rave about the generosity and hospitality of the Turks. But true friendships don't develop often out of this. Most of the time there simply is too little common ground. It does happen though. But the poll doesn't surprise me at all. Our family has close friends in the U.S., in France, UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Russia and Israel. People from Muslim countries: Close friends, no, friendly acquaintances, yes. |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2016-05-07 10:46 |
| #10 Then there's this, from the article: But that may be in the process of changing, as around half of young people aged 18-24 said that their social circles included Muslims. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-05-07 09:58 |
| #9 The Germans I've known are not as liberal with friend as we Americans are. They know plenty of people, but a friend is someone they've let into their heart only after a long vetting to be sure that person can be trusted forever. A lovely woman explained to me, after having lived in America for half a decade, that they see their hearts as a pure, deep mountain lake hidden in the forest. One doesn't reveal that lake to one who might pollute it. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2016-05-07 09:54 |
| #8 Our own surveys also show that higher levels of education go along with greater openness to diversity Strange then that the 9/11 terrorists were not made up of vegetable or fruit sellers. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2016-05-07 08:37 |
| #7 I do not know any Amish or have any Amish friends but I do not have any desire to invade their farms, businesses or way of life. And I certainly respect their right to live the way they choose. Maybe because the Amish treat me the same. No friendship required. |
| Posted by: Airandee 2016-05-07 06:43 |
| #6 |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2016-05-07 06:09 |
| #5 Our own surveys also show that higher levels of education go along with greater openness to diversity Muslims really eager to learn (some) organic chemistry, and (some) electrical engineering? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2016-05-07 06:02 |
| #4 Ignoring the hateful comment of newc, I'd just invite you to read the article a bit more carefully: "Almost two-thirds of non-Muslim Germans don't know any Muslims personally" "62 percent of people said that they didn't count a single Muslim among their close personal friends." So what is it? There's quite a difference between "close personal friends" and "not knowing any Muslim personally". How many "close friends" do you have? |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2016-05-07 04:30 |
| #3 Funny you must learn these things the hard way. You started more wars yjan everyone on the planet than the moslems. It is funny how you never learned from all those defeats. I get a very angry feeling inside after seeing what you did to all of Europe for your own stupid liberal self guilt. Leftists will be the death of all of you with your fake caring and marxist bullshit pandering to "Victoms". Frankly, I do not care now. You deserve to shoot yourselves in the head after the hell you gave this planet. But spreading it to your Neighbors is a major NO-GO. You are again a useless or even destructive nation to all of Europe, and ... I Love you but you just don't care. I have a Hint for you stupid HUN idiots... Your LORD THY GOD HAS NO MOSLEM "Friends". Why would that be? |
| Posted by: newc 2016-05-07 02:02 |
| #2 Chicken or the egg? Quran 5:51 - Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. They are friends with one another. Whoever of you seeks their friendship shall become one of their number. God does not guide the wrong-doers. Quran 98:6 - The unbelievers among the People of the Book [Bible] and the pagans shall burn for ever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. Quran 3:28 - Let not the believers take disbelievers for their friends in preference to believers. Whoso doeth that hath no connection with Allah unless that ye but guard yourselves against them Al-Bukhari Hadiths - We smile in the face of some people (non-Muslims) although our hearts curse them. and so on and so on. |
| Posted by: Eohippus Snore8229 2016-05-07 01:44 |
| #1 Most German Muslims don't have non-Muslim friends... Something to do with the Crayonic admonition not to take non-Muslims as friends, perhaps. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2016-05-07 01:32 |