Germany’s Islam Policy: An Analysis of the German Islamic Conference

Abstract

There is a significant Muslim population living in Germany and their numbers are increasing year by year. The majority of these Muslims are composed of those who went to Germany from Turkey to work within the framework of the labor agreement signed in 1961 and their descendants. In the last decade, a significant amount of people who migrated to Germany as a result of the Syrian civil war have been added to this total. Over the past sixty years, Muslims in Germany have become institutionalized in order to preserve their religion, culture and identity, and because of this their visibility and effectiveness in society has increased. Especially after the developments in the context of Islam and Muslims on the global level since the 2000s, Germany has started to develop policies regarding the Muslim population living in the country. The discussions, which initially started with the integration of immigrants or foreigners into the country, later continued with topics such as integration, assimilation and prevention of radicalization, which have primarily negative connotations. In fact, these issues are also the primary agenda of Islam policy in Germany. In this article, Germany’s Islam Policy is examined descriptively through its institutional reflection, the German Islam Conference; the topics covered, the research commissioned, the recommendations, the practices and projects that emerged are analyzed. The effects of the conference on Muslims in Germany, the largest segment of which is composed of the Turkish-origin community, are emphasized, and it is evaluated as a platform that offers long-term opportunities despite the problems in its functioning.