• German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier emphasizes Islam’s roots in the country.
• Steinmeier’s remarks came in response to the growing racism and Islamophobia fueled by far-right groups and parties.
• The President’s assuring comments are not the first for the Muslim community.

Amid growing racism and Islamophobia, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has stressed that Islam, its culture, and people belong to Germany, calling for protecting and respecting the freedom of all believers.

Steinmeier was speaking Saturday at the celebration of the 50th founding anniversary of the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ) in Cologne, Anadolu Agency reported.

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“Islam, the Muslim religion, Muslim life, Muslim culture have taken root in our country,” Steinmeier said.

“Today, the diversity of Islam, the diversity of over 5 million Muslims, is also part of our country,” he said.

The President’s remarks came in the wake of a recent report which said racism and Islamophobia have become part of everyday life in Germany.

The report, released in June by the Berlin-based non-governmental organization, the Alliance Against Islamophobia and Muslim Hostility, recorded 898 anti-Muslim incidents in Germany in 2022.

Among the documented cases were 500 verbal attacks, including inflammatory statements, insults, threats, and coercion.

Eleven threatening letters to mosques with “often excessive threats of violence and death” were recorded. The letters contained Nazi symbols or references to the Nazi era.

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Supporting Muslims

Steinmeier’s assuring comments are not the first for the Muslim community.

In December 2019, he paid a special visit to a mosque in Penzberg, calling for more understanding between religions.

Also, in March 2018, he voiced his strong support for the Muslim community as part of German society.

According to the Pew Research Center report in 2017, Muslims form the largest minority religious group in the country, with about 5 million people, representing about 6.1 percent of the German population.

More than half of the Muslims in Germany, about 63.2 percent, are of Turkish and Kurdish origins.  

Most Muslims live in the capital Berlin, and the large metropolises of former West Germany.