Muslims in Munich - Philip Anderson

Muslims in Munich
Dialogue between the Religions –
local approaches in Germany

Basic Data
• 3,2 to 3,5 Million Muslims in Germany,
ca.300,000 in Munich
• Immigration from Turkey and North Africa
• Islam is not a recognised religion
• Organisational form: associations, , ca. 35
mosque associations in Munich

Islam in Europe - History
• Expansion: Spain and the Reconquista
• Expansion and decline: The Ottoman
Empire, the „sick
man of Europe“
• Post World War II: „secular„
secular“ work
migration
• From 1990s increasing religious dimension
of the Muslim Diaspora

Muslims in German Cities
• Associations are a form of „home„
home“ abroad
• Self-help
groups with a pioneer character
• In the course of migration the associations
have increased in importance
• Formerly „back-yard“ mosques, now
increasingly „representative“ buildings (ca.
300)

Increasing Controversy since the
90 s Why?
• Rise of fundamentalism worldwide
(Christian and Muslim, Jewish, sects)
• End of „East„
East-West
conflict“ “ and an end of
„Bi-polarity“
• In the vacuum: political polarisation and
an „instrumentalisation„
instrumentalisation“ “ of religion, e.g.
Al-Qaida
• Islamist critique is post-colonialist
reaction
to Western ascendancy

Why (2)
• Deep ambivalence toward the values of
the West. Admiration and humiliation are
two sides of the same coin
• Symbolic importance of Israel-Palestine
Conflict as viewed by many Muslims
• Radicalisation and the role of terror since
9/11

Social policy background:
Exclusion
• Language problems, school performance
(PISA), limited qualification options
• Unemployment, low-paid
jobs,
discrimination, low social prestige
• Religion provides identity,support of a
sense of „otherness„
otherness“,
combined with pride
• = socially explosive mix

Dialogue Approach: Muslim Round
Table
• Social policy and everyday topics: support
for education, care of the sick and dying,
Islamic burial areas etc.
• Current controvesies: Building of new
mosques and promoting tolerance, or:
clear distancing from terror acts
• Local community attitudes: from active
dialogue to aggressive rejection

Other places in Germany
• Often controversies around new mosques:
deep-seated
fears
• Examples: Lauingen (positive), Pankow in
Berlin (negative)
• October 2008: „The„
Miracle of Marxloh“
(Duisburg)
• Muslims are „coming
out of the closet“,
importance of active civil society dialogue
and discussion

National level
• The Islam conference of the Federal
Government (since(
2006)
• The importance of religious lessons on
Islam in state schools (education:: Länder
responsibility)
• Local authorities and dialogue approach:
Focus of people‘s everyday lives is local

In Conclusion
• Dialogue means needs are expressed,
controversies dealt with
• Integration is about everyone! Thus active
discussions involving whole community
• Basis for social policy: Participation and
mutual respect are interconnected
• Alternative: Exclusion and the increase of
ethnic and social tensions and potential
civic breakdown

•ManyMany thanks for listening!