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Turkish-German CSOs hope German presidential candidate will embrace immigrants
Gauck was previously criticized by the Turkish community for his remarks supporting Thilo Sarrazin, a member of Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), who wrote a book claiming Muslim immigrants fail to integrate into German society due to their Islamic culture.
With Sarrazin under fire from his party and the Muslim community, Gauck said in September 2010 that Sarrazin had “demonstrated courage” in opening a debate on immigration.
Speaking about Gauck’s candidacy, Ali Kızılkaya, the head of Germany’s Islamic Council (Islamrat) and a former spokesperson for the Coordination Council of Muslims in Germany (KRM), said he hopes Gauck would embrace all communities in Germany, highlighting that Islam and Muslims are an integral part of the country. “If he [Gauck] withdraws his support for Sarrazin, it would be a big relief for Muslims in Germany,” Kızılkaya told Today’s Zaman on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hasan Özdoğan, the chairman of the Union of European Turkish Democrats (UETD), claimed that Gauck should further explain what he means by his remarks about Sarrazin, adding that Gauck is an experienced politician who understands German society and would embrace the contributions of the Muslim community.
Erol Pürlü, dialogue coordinator at the Union of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ), said Muslim immigrants expect Gauck to adopt the line of former President Christian Wulff, who said “Islam belongs to Germany.”
Wulff’s remarks that Islam is a part of Germany, made in 2010, were lauded by Turkish and other immigrant groups.
“We [Muslims in Germany] need a president who would reconcile and unite different parts of German society, rather than divide,” noted Nurhan Soykan, secretary-general of the General Council of Germany’s Muslims (ZMD), expressing hope that, if successful, Gauck will continue to build on his democratic credentials and fulfill the expectations of the Muslim community.
Germany’s government and the two major opposition parties, the SPD and the Greens, jointly nominated Gauck, a former East German human rights activist. Now 72 years old, Gauck is a former Lutheran priest who opposed East Germany’s then communist regime.
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