Josh Lowe, Newsweek, April 13, 2017

German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has said that Muslims “have to accept our way of life” if they are to be welcome in Germany.

Speaking at a panel discussion on Wednesday he said that migrants who don’t like European culture have made “the wrong decision” in coming to the continent, Politico reported.

“There are better places in the world to live under Islamic law than Europe,” he said.

Schäuble’s comments come amid a toughening of mainstream political rhetoric toward Islam on the continent.

At the weekend, the center-right European People’s Party, an influential group of parties within the EU Parliament that includes Schäuble’s CDU, called for a Europe-wide ban on Islamic face veils “both for reasons of security and because seeing one another’s faces is an integral part of human interaction in Europe.”

Germany’s government has pledged to explore banning face veils in some public places, as far as the country’s constitution — which includes robust protections for the freedom of religion — will allow.

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