Turkish PM in Germany: "Assimilation is a crime"

[Ioannis]

Jihad Watch: Turkish PM to Muslims in Germany: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity"

The next time riots break out among Muslims in Europe, and the learned experts on television and in the Times and the Post start handwringing about the failure of European states to assimilate their Muslim minorities, remember this statement, and who made it, and how it was received.

"Erdogan cheered by 16,000 Turks in Cologne," from Expatica (thanks to all who sent this in):

Cologne, Germany -- A crowd of 16,000 expatriate Turks cheered Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a vast indoor auditorium in Germany on Sunday as he told them to resist assimilation into the West.

The political rally by Germany's biggest ethnic minority upset German politicians, who objected to a major public event on German soil being advertised on posters in Turkish only.

Erdogan indirectly addressed those concerns, saying it was right for Turkish immigrants to learn German and other languages so they could integrate, but wrong to abandon their Turkish heritage and assimilate.

"Assimilation is a crime against humanity," he told the crowd. Many Turks had travelled from France, Belgium and the Netherlands to hear his hour-long address in the shiny venue, the Koelnarena.

"I can well understand that you are against assimilation," he said. "It is important to learn German, but your Turkish language should not be neglected."

He said ethnic Turks abroad should be more confident in standing up for their interests, and should win election as mayors and members of European national parliaments....

Erdogan was lionized by other speakers at the event, organized by the Union of European Turkish Democrats, a group that supports his moderate Islamist AKP party.

[Marcus Marulus]

Well, he put it clear enough, didn't he?

[Pirate]

"Assimilation is a crime against humanity," he told the crowd.

I can't really say I disagree with him...

[Martín Zalacaín]

I totally agree with Edorgan. If we let them in, it is our problem. As I have asked before: why should they integrate willingly?

If spaniards were emigrating to China, I'd hope that the spanish colony there would keep its traditions and religion.

[Kernunnos]

See also this interesting blog article about the same issue

from UK's Telegraph blog

Ludwigshafen and Turkish integration : February 2008 : Harry de Quetteville : Foreign : Telegraph Blogs

Ludwigshafen and Turkish integration



Just when it seemed that things were on the mend between Germany and Turkey after the fatal fire last week in Ludwigshafen, it turns out they aren't after all.

Mourners attend the funeral of nine people killed in a fire
I was in Ludwigshafen last week to see Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan turn in a pretty exemplary performance to calm nerves - praising German emergency services and asking for patience in the investigation. But then, on Sunday night, he put on a very different show that has raised hackles in Berlin no end.
As the Archbishop of Canterbury has found out to his cost, making subtle distinctions with sensitive terms can cause no end of trouble. So it seems unlikely that Mr Erdogan was unaware of the effect he would have when he differentiated between "assimilation" and "integration".
He called on Germany's 2.5 million strong ethnic Turkish community to "integrate" - learning the language, applying for political representation, that kind of thing.
But while that is all appreciated by the government in Berlin, just like his soothing comments in Ludwigshafen, other appeals have been less welcome.
He wants Turkish language schools in Germany and has offered to send over teachers from Turkey to man them. Interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble worries that ethnic Turks in Germany will "retreat into their own little world".
Of course, it's difficult not to succumb to accusations of double standards when resisting his school pleas.
As the venerable Sueddeutsche Zeitung put it: "In Germany the English-language universities and the popular French grammar schools in Berlin are considered successes of intercultural dialogue.
But if Erdogan calls for Turkish-language schools that is considered a provocation. How are we going to explain to him that English and French schools are welcome here but not Turkish ones, and that it is not really about language and culture, but keeping out an underclass?"
But, given the sensitivities of the past few days and the crackling Ankara campaign rally atmosphere inside the Cologne Arena, he knew his description of cultural assimilation as a "crime against humanity" would be provocative.
It is hardly surprising that Angela Merkel has reacted with frosty irritation.
"If they are citizens, then of course I expect them to behave as full citizens without qualification," she said of Germans of Turkish descent.
"Their loyalties are then to the German state," and by, extension she implied, to her as the German chancellor, not to Erdogan as the Turkish PM.
It's all got very tense again, and very far away from the specifics of the Ludwigshafen fire. Its nine victims were buried in Turkey yesterday.
Meanwhile, police seem to be quietly edging away from the conclusion that it was started by arson.
Indeed, the main allegation by two young girls that they saw a man setting a fire near a pram on the ground floor now appears gravely in doubt. Investigators say that the fire actually started in the building's basement.
But those were the details that mattered most last week, along with the specific fate of a few dozen victims and survivors - including Onur Calar, the baby so spectacularly pictured being thrown from the burning building.
Now the diplomatic ties of two major powers are at stake, and for millions of people the vexed question of identity is in play.



Posted by Harry de Quetteville on 12 Feb 2008 at 13:00

[Routasydän]

I agree with the prime minister and I wish he said more things in this vein so more Germans would agree with me.