This article is from a German university and their center for Muslim studies. Although the article was posted in 2011, I feel that it still has some truth into the changing environment of Germany due to immigration. First, I thought it was interesting that the article pointed out that German migration up until this point has been mainly Christian immigrants. This new wave of immigration consists now more than even of Muslims. The late 1980s is when Germany’s population increased drastically to more asylum seekers than ever before. With that also came an influx of national backgrounds and religions. Currently, in some places in Germany, immigrants with a Turkish background out number all other nationalities. As immigration increased over the years, more people started publicly practicing their Islam tradition. This could be seen in the creation of mosques, and in the everyday life of school, work, etc. There is a mounting visibility of Islamic culture, which is now intertwining with German social and political culture as well.

What surprised me the most about this article was the fact that even though the majority of people in Germany who identify as Muslim are immigrants, 45% are in fact German nationals. This shows that Islam has greatly shaped the modern German identity, and will continue to with the recent immigration crisis. With new Muslim population, an academic interest in religion and policy has been on the rise as well. People now want to know the religious dimension in immigration and policy making. Not only that, but policy and immigration debates have been heavily emphasized with religion as well.

Citation:

Nordbruch, Gotz. Germany: Migration, Islamd, and National Identity. Center for Mellemoststudier, Syddansk Universitet. 2011.