At a Berlin conference to promote intercultural dialogue, Germany's integration minister discussed the absurd and slanderous things written about her online. She urged young people to lead the fight against hate speech.
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Speaking at this weekend's Young Islam Conference, which opened in the German capital on Friday, the government's integration minister Aydan Özoguz gave an astonishing and at times humorous account of the hate mail and fake news to which she's been subjected.
Özoguz told the conference participants, a specially selected group of Muslims and non-Muslims under the age of 25, that the internet and social media were driving anti-immigrant and even racist sentiment in Germany. To illustrate her point she read out messages she herself received on her Facebook page.
"You've secretly decided that we're a nation of immigration," Özoguz said, citing one message. "There's no tolerance and future to be expected with Islamists like you," read another.
"I'd love a job with that much power," Özoguz joked. Another post accused her of creating "spaces free of law and order" with "drug dealing, no police and 98 percent foreigners with Sharia (Islamic law) - congratulations on such stupid policies."
"I wanted to respond that I'd have to be pretty stupid to support policies like that," said the 49-year-old Özoguz, who was born in Hamburg and has been a member of the Bundestag since 2009. "But even at my age you learn not to feed the trolls."
She added that she had gotten hate messages even for innocuous posts wishing users a happy Christmas. She said she supported the government's policies of cracking down on hate speech on social media.
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The Young Islam Conference is an annual event that brings together 40 young people together to further understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims. The year's theme is "how to repair dialogue." Özoguz said that that the basis for any genuine exchanges were facts and that fake news represented a growing danger.
The integration minister added that she found the sort of things which could be found on the internet and that some people believed "remarkable." To illustrate her point, Özoguz cited some of the fake news stories about herself.
One fake news article, she said, featured the headline "Özoguz calls for all women in Germany to wear burqas."
Still more pernicious, she added, was fake news that took real events and willfully misinterpreted them. For example, one piece on the internet contended that she had proposed that refugees should get to elect Bundestag members - when in reality what Özoguz had said was that foreigners living legally in Germany should be allowed to vote in local community elections.
Özoguz called upon her young audience to use their greater fluency in the latest technology and communication media to lead the fight against fake news and hate speech.
"I don't know whether my generation will be able to deal with those things sensibly," she said.
The Young Islam Conference runs until Sunday in the German capital.
Eight young people answer eight tough questions about Muslims in Germany
This year's Young Islam Conference has the theme "repairing dialogue." But is dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims really broken? And if so, how can it be fixed? DW asked eight of the participants.
Image: DW/J. Chase
Do you feel German?
Aya (18 years old from Bielefeld) is one of the participants in the 2017 Young Islam Conference in Berlin. She says: "I feel more German than Moroccan. I grew up with German culture and have a much greater connection to it than to what you could call my other country." So what did some of her fellow participants say about other questions concerning Islam in Germany?
Image: DW/J. Chase
Is Europe being Islamified?
Martin (22, Flensburg) says: "No. Europe is getting more culture. I think Europe is going through some painful learning phases at the moment - the Brexit is an example of that. But if you look at the statistics and facts, Europe is not being Islamified. That's just false. You can't support that thesis. It's nonsense."
Image: DW/J. Chase
What does integration mean for you?
Volkan (24, Siegen) says: "For me it's mainly the feeling of belonging, of not being excluded. As someone from an immigrant background, you get asked a lot of questions that make you realize that you don't really belong. That really bothered me as a child. No matter where I was or what I did, I was always the outsider."
Image: DW/J. Chase
What needs repairing in relations between Muslims and non-Muslims?
Hannah (Kiel, 21) says: "I think the problem in Germany is that people talk a lot about one another instead of talking to one another. We've never learned how to go up to someone and ask: 'Why are you wearing a headscarf?' If you don't take an interest in Islam, you'll never be able to answer such questions. It's so easy to approach someone with a headscarf and ask her to explain."
Image: DW/J. Chase
What bothers you most about media depictions of Muslims?
Merve (19, Duisburg): "What irritates me about how Muslims are portrayed is when we're reduced to one single external attribute. For instance, I choose to wear a headscarf. But that doesn't mean I'm some poor helpless thing. And there's much more to me than that. For instance, I'm someone who's proud to be from Duisburg."
Image: DW/J. Chase
What should be done about anti-Muslim hate speech and fake news?
Ahmed (25, Cologne) says: "The most important thing is always dialogue. With fake news or hate speech on social media, I'd always be ready for a discussion. Especially with Facebook, I'd have the courage to comment on things. I'm very active. I reactivated my facebook account one month ago to take part in the debate about Turkey. It's important for me to discuss things rationally."
Image: DW/J. Chase
What would you say to anti-immigrant movements like Pegida or the AfD?
Aylin (19, Selent) says: "I wouldn't say anything. It would make no sense to talk to these groups. Some people are unwilling to change their minds. The AfD are very convinced of their views, and those left in Pegida must be as well. Those views are, in part, forbidden by the constitution. But I think that at the moment this is just a trend and that many people will come to their senses."
Image: DW/J. Chase
Is Islam part of Germany?
Paul, (19, Kiel) says: "Definitely. Germany is a geographical area in which one society lives and acts. Every group that lives in this area is part of Germany. If I live in Germany, I'm part of Germany, and I have the right to say 'I'm German.' As far as I'm concerned people don't even have to speak the language."