Multiculturalism
All topics-
Racism debate in Germany
Integration – a process of give and take
Thousands of Germans with a migration background have been sharing their experiences of racial discrimination using the hashtag #MeTwo. Successful integration is not a one-sided process, says Armin Langer, the majority must also be prepared to address the issues
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Mesut Ozil and #MeTwo
When are you German enough?
Michel Abdollahi, Idil Baydar and Y'Akoto have all experienced racism and xenophobia – despite calling Germany their home. The artists hope that the #MeTwo debate will change hearts and minds when it comes to identity. By Yalda Zarbakhch
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What it means to be German
Afro.Germany - being black and German
Black and German: news anchor Jana Pareigis has spent her entire life being asked about her skin color. What is it like to be black in Germany? What needs to change?
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The association "Deutsch Plus"
Working for diversity in Germany
The association "Deutsch Plus" was founded in 2011 with the aim of promoting equal opportunities and participation for people with a migration background. The hope is that by embracing diversity, Germany can progress from being a country of immigration to becoming a true society of immigration. By Claudia Mende
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Islamophobia
Criticism of religion? Blatant racism!
What a contradiction in terms! Thanks to the growing ethnicisation of religious affiliation and the religionisation of ethnicity, being both Muslim and German is often presented as something wholly incompatible. By Yasemin Shooman
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Donald Trump′s America
U.S. immigration policy: Damn those cosmopolitans
Cosmopolitanism is clearly a dirty word to the Trump administration, which is increasingly aligning itself with nativist movements hostile to ethnic or religious minorities. In the process Trump and his advisors are walking on thin political ice, argues Ian Buruma in his essay
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The 2017 Goethe Medals
Lebanese author Emily Nasrallah wins award: "Language is key"
Every year the Goethe-Institut confers the official decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany to honour figures who have performed outstanding service for international cultural dialogue. This year′s Goethe Medals have been awarded to Lebanese author Emily Nasrallah, Indian publisher Urvashi Butalia and Russian civil rights activist Irina Shcherbakova
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Germany and the semantics of exclusion
"We are not burka"
German Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere has doused a hotchpotch of both trivial and relevant concerns in the black, red and gold of the national flag and declared it to be the German "Leitkultur", meaning the country's core, dominant or leading culture. This is just plain silly. Commentary by Heribert Prantl
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Interview with the French-Turkish sociologist Nilufer Gole
"Islam is taking root in Europe"
Sociologist Nilufer Gole talked to Muslims throughout Europe who would otherwise never get to have their say. The results of her remarkable study have now been published in German translation. Interview by Karen Kruger
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Germany′s integration debate revisited
Piling on the pressure
What exactly does integration mean? And just how much allegiance may a society demand of its migrants? Such questions are currently the topic of vigorous debate – especially following the recent referendum result in Turkey. Expecting that migrants should do all the adapting in order to conform to the majority society will, however, only stir up conflict, warns Claudia Mende
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What it means to be German
Recognise the potential
Germany is a country of immigration. Clinging to an out-dated and mythical understanding of what it means to be German not only adds grist to the right-wing populists′ mill, it also endangers social cohesion. By Andreas Bock
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Islam the bogeyman
Tarred with the same brush
The fear of Islam is socially construed and tied to societally entrenched anti-Muslim racism that fails to distinguish between Islam and Islamism. Essay by Andreas Bock