German Muslim Groups Slam ˈSenselessˈ Talks With Govˈt

Berlin, May 8, IRNA -- German Muslim organizations lashed out at their government for holding ˈsenselessˈ talks with them on improving the situation of the countryˈs 4.5 million Muslims, the press reported Tuesday. Muslim leaders lambasted Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich for focusing solely on security issues rather than the urgent needs of Muslims in Germany who are grappling with daily discrimination and racism. The way the talks are conducted by the German government, they make ˈno senseˈ any longer, the chairman of the Turkish Muslim organization DITIB, Bekir Alboga was quoted as saying. What we need is a ˈreal partnershipˈ, he added. Meanwhile, the head of the German Turkish community, Kenan Kolat said Muslims were not treated as equal when they sit at the negotiation table with the government. Germanyˈs Muslim community has repeatedly said the periodic formal talks with the government --known as German Islam Conference-- were merely ˈsymbolicˈ and failed to address the real issues. A number of Muslim organizations have openly called for cancelling the government meetings. Critics argue the center-right government of Chancellor Angela Merkel instrumentalized the alleged security threat of a very small portion of German-based radical Muslims for political purposes. The German government has also stepped up pressure on Islamic organizations to encourage Muslims to spy on one another. Interior Minister Friedrich who is officially in charge to coordinate relations with the Islamic community, has placed the issue of what he labeled ˈsecurity partnershipˈ with Islamic groups on top of the agenda during his formal meetings with Muslims community representatives in Berlin. Friedrich made also headlines by saying Islam was not part of Germany./end