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German Turks say study ignores inequality of opportunities
The study, released earlier this week by the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, also said Turks are less successful than immigrants from other countries in securing jobs in Germany.
On a sliding scale of one (poorly integrated) to eight (well integrated), Turkish immigrants came last with a score of 2.4, despite being the second most numerous immigrant group in the country.
In the area of education, the study shows that only 14 percent of ethnic Turks in Germany pass their secondary school final examinations. In the state of Saarland, 45 percent of Turkish immigrants have not completed their high school education. In terms of assimilation into society, it is noted that less than a third of Turks born in Germany have chosen to obtain German citizenship and that 93 percent have married within the Turkish community.
Urging respect for Muslims living in Germany, Ali Kızılkaya, the head of Germany's Islamic Council and a former spokesperson for the Coordination Council of Muslims in Germany, said only if this respect is increased can the integration of Muslims into German society be strengthened.
Germany's Islam Conference -- which brings together the Interior Ministry with Islamic groups in pursuit of a "German Islam" -- was initiated in 2006 by Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, but has not yet made any contributions to the integration issue, Kızılkaya added.
Some 2.5 million people of Turkish descent live in Germany, more than in any other country in Western Europe.
"We are already aware that we have certain problems and weaknesses. But in this study, Turks are being compared with other immigrants. This is needless because we should be compared with Germans. Of course, if only 6 percent of Turks attend university, while 30 percent of Germans attend university, it means that there is a problem here," said Kemal Önel from the Cologne Turkish University Graduates Association.
The basic problem, Önel said, is the huge gap between the educational level of German society and that of immigrant groups. "Unfortunately, the German state is wasting very significant potential. All immigrant communities have a common disadvantage; however, Turks are considered more alien than other groups, thus they are more discriminated against," he added.
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