German nationalist party terms Islam 'incompatible with democracy'

Published September 18, 2017
Alexander Gauland, co-top candidate of the German Alternative for Germany party for the upcoming general elections, arrives for a press conference in Berlin.— AP
Alexander Gauland, co-top candidate of the German Alternative for Germany party for the upcoming general elections, arrives for a press conference in Berlin.— AP

A German nationalist party called on Monday for tighter security measures aimed primarily at immigrants, while again insisting that Islam is incompatible with democracy, as Germany's election campaign entered its final stretch.

Alternative for Germany's co-leader Alexander Gauland told reporters that “Islam is also a political doctrine” and as such “is incompatible with a free democratic order.”

“In this respect, it is not a part of Germany,” he said.

Alternative for Germany, known by its German acronym AfD, is on its way to enter parliament for the first time in Sunday's national election with about 10 per cent support in recent polls. Gauland says it wants to prevent the “Islamisation of Germany".

Among other proposals, he said AfD wants a ban on minarets and public calls to prayer from mosques, a ban on headscarves for teachers and students, and for imams to lead prayers only in German.

At the same news conference in Berlin, Gauland's co-leader, Alice Weidel, presented a broad range of proposals she said would make Germany safer, including the reintroduction of conscription to enhance border security, imprisoning foreigners who commit crimes in facilities in other countries, and making it tougher to get citizenship and easier to lose it.

Gauland and Weidel were short on specifics about how their proposals could be put into practice, but will likely never have to provide details since any measures would have to be approved first by parliament as well as overcome constitutional challenges. Other parties say they won't include AfD in a new government.

Doubling down on an earlier statement that the country could be “proud of German soldiers' achievements in two world wars,” Gauland said he didn't “understand the whole fuss.”

He said 95pc of German soldiers weren't involved in war crimes and that “in many families there are framed photographs of fathers and brothers. These people want to be proud of the sacrifices that were made.”

He insisted he was talking about “the individual achievements of German soldiers in two world wars.”

“This has nothing to do with the crimes of the leadership,” he said.

Opinion

Revival? For whom?

Revival? For whom?

Numerous sets of numbers, not quoted by govt sources, suggest that things are not as dazzling as claimed by those who run the country.

Editorial

Premature alarm
Updated 20 Feb, 2025

Premature alarm

Improvement in headline inflation gives policymakers chance to fix investment policies, implement structural reforms.
Forsaken province
20 Feb, 2025

Forsaken province

AND the endless cycle of violence continues. The brutal killing on Tuesday night of seven Punjab-bound passengers in...
In poor health
20 Feb, 2025

In poor health

THE absence of decent and affordable healthcare in the country continues to ruin lives. An example of this is ...
Out of control
Updated 19 Feb, 2025

Out of control

AS bodies continue to fall in Kurram despite a state-sanctioned ceasefire, one wonders how long local militants’...
Hollow words
19 Feb, 2025

Hollow words

IT is not uncommon for politicians to resort to the use of hyperbole in order to boost their public standing. ...
Migration matters
19 Feb, 2025

Migration matters

THE grass, it seems, did appear greener on the other side to millions of people as evidenced by the latest UN ...