Just minutes ago I posted about France’s Nicolas Sarkozy bringing the threat of Islam to a national debate. Now we see Germany’s Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich wasting no time and jumping into the fray! He is not the first German authority figure to jump into this fight. Some recent examples of this are, Chancellor Angela Merkel stating that Muslims cannot live by Shariah Law if they want to live there, German authorities applying anti-Nazi laws against two non-violent pro-Shariah Islamic organizations, a German court telling a Muslim he cannot pray in school, and the Pro NRW political party receiving the funding to open up an anti-Islamic headquarters. The tide is turning…

Germany’s new interior minister draws fire

BERLIN, March 4 (UPI) — Germany’s freshly appointed Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has sparked controversy on the first day of his new job when talking about the role of Islam in German society.

Friedrich, who succeeds Thomas de Maiziere, now defense minister, at a news conference in Berlin said there was no proof in history “that Islam is part of Germany.”

De Maiziere and his predecessor Wolfgang Schaeuble had tried to launch a debate with Germany’s Muslim community to improve integration efforts.

Friedrich said he would take integration of Germany’s estimated 4 million Muslims “very seriously,” adding that he would continue the dialog with the Muslim community, the so-called Islam Conference.

His statements, which weren’t exactly tactful, were a repetition of his critique of a speech delivered by German President Christian Wulff, who said in October that Islam is a part of German society. Both politicians are members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.

On the first day of his new job, Friedrich was criticized for what the opposition and Muslim groups said were inflammatory remarks.