At a meeting with the member of the Bundestag Mr Cem Özdemir, Jusek Adlersztejn and Elio Adler reported on our discussion round about right-wing extremism and also explained that our next topic within the trilogy of events will be “Islamism”.Mr Özdemir, from the Bündnis90/Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bundestag, has always taken a clear position on the topic of the “relationship between state and religion”: a secular state makes a clear separation between state and religion, but at the same time protects freedom of religion. Mr Özdemir was able to show us, using many examples, how Bündnis90/Die Grünen remain true to this principle.
We also agreed on the problematic role of foreign governments that actively oppose the integration of their (former) citizens. Both the Turkish president Erdogan and the Iranian mullahs try to bring their messages into society here through various channels. Unfortunately these are often enough filled with the most vehement antisemitism, so that they have a direct effect on Jewish life in Germany.
It became clear how important it is that German society must counter these divisive endeavours with something: genuine, values-based integration combined with participation of Muslim (former) migrants who see themselves as part of the free democratic society and thus share the idea of the secular state.
Furthermore, we shared the concern about the further development of the AfD, whose poll ratings did decline in the course of the coronavirus crisis, but this need not be a lasting development.
Many thanks for the interesting and pleasant conversation.
