Forty years after opening the floodgates to Turkish immigration -- and allowing them to form their own subculture without either side working towards integration -- the murder of Theo Van Gogh has finally prompted Germany to insist on assimilation from its Muslim population, the AP reports:

Fears that growing alienation between immigrants and majority Germans could lead to strife have prompted politicians including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to send a message to Muslims immigrants: Learn German, fit in, commit to democratic rules.

In Neukoelln, where 80 percent of elementary school students are not German, some civic leaders say the debate underscores something they have said for some time: Immigrants are not going to conform to mainstream German society over time.

"Pointing out the problem doesn't make you a racist," said Leopold Bongart, who has taught German language courses in Neukoelln since the 1970s.

"We told ourselves that the process in many ways would take care of itself. That hasn't worked."
Fears that growing alienation between immigrants and majority Germans could lead to strife have prompted politicians including Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to send a message to Muslims immigrants: Learn German, fit in, commit to democratic rules.

In Neukoelln, where 80 percent of elementary school students are not German, some civic leaders say the debate underscores something they have said for some time: Immigrants are not going to conform to mainstream German society over time.

"Pointing out the problem doesn't make you a racist," said Leopold Bongart, who has taught German language courses in Neukoelln since the 1970s. "We told ourselves that the process in many ways would take care of itself. That hasn't worked."

Germans allowed themselves to believe that they could import millions of cheap workers without experiencing any social distortion from the culture shock. They allowed ghettos to form, and as the AP report details, a completely separate social structure unconnected from mainstream Germany grew out of this arrogance. Now they want the Muslims to integrate into German society, but 40 years of pushing them into the corner cannot be reversed overnight.

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Tomorrow, President Bush will visit our neighbor to the North. A coalition of anti-war protesters, left-wing lawyers and anti-capitalists have decided to protest the visit and have not ruled out violent protest. Some want to indict the President for War [Read More]

Tracked on November 29, 2004 9:41 AM