GERMANY: State government officials in Stuttgart have been flooded with complaints that a new procedure to determine citizenship applicants' views on issues from democracy to homosexuality discriminates against Muslims.
Starting this year, naturalisation officials in Baden-Württemberg can draw on a list of 30 questions during interviews to see what applicants think of a man having two wives or whether he has the right to hit his wife. Other questions seek the applicant's opinions on equal rights for men and women, children making their own choices about job and partner, and whether the 9/11 perpetrators were terrorists or freedom fighters.
German law was changed six years ago to allow non-nationals apply for citizenship after living here for eight years, once they can provide for their family and have no criminal convictions.
Last year, Baden-Württemberg naturalised 16,000 non-nationals, 9,000 from Muslim countries. Günter Loos, a spokesman with the state interior ministry in Stuttgart, said the interview was not discriminatory and only occurred where doubts existed that a candidate's values conformed with German values.
He admits there are questions on the list that would "demand a lot of tolerance for a Muslim", like the one asking how the applicant would react if their son or brother said he was gay and wanted to live with a man.
"We only want to ascertain tolerance. Someone would be fine saying that they aren't thrilled, that it doesn't match their world view, but that the son is an adult and should do as he wishes," he said. "These are questions that are unpleasant for a Catholic, too."
Critics say the interview is discriminatory because only Muslim applicants are being quizzed, something the government denies, and that the themes discussed - from honour killings to religious and sexual freedom - are drawn from negative news stories involving the Muslim community in Germany. They point out that the guidelines specify that the 57 member states of the Islamic Conference are at the "centre" of this new procedure.
"The state is not allowed to test a person's conscience or their inner values. This catalogue of questions shows us how much mistrust Muslims encounter," said Nadeem Elyas, head of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.
Joining the critical voices are the Green Party and the Social Democrats, both in opposition in the state parliament. Other state governments are watching developments closely and the issue will be debated in the Bundestag tomorrow.
Other leading Muslims in Germany such as Necla Kelick, a Turkish-born sociologist and author, have backed the interview. "I am always amazed [ in Germany] how one is always ready to take sides with those presumed to be weak or threatened. At the same time it astounds me that this solidarity is often blind - blind to what is actually worth defending in one's own society, one's own constitution, which, if in doubt, must be defended."