Islam and the New Identity of Germany

Pogorelskaya S.V.

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the Federal Republic of Germany has been trying hard to integrate its Moslem community into the existing legal order. How did a country that has never had an indigenous Moslem population develop such an extensive and diverse diaspora that the state is forced to seek a dialogue with it? Does Islam influence Germany's new identity? After analyzing the formation of the diaspora and the forces represented in it, from moderate to Islamist, as well as the changing state policy towards Islam, the author comes to the conclusion that Islam will not be able to become part of the German identity. The state is currently integrating moderate Islam into the existing legal order, cutting off and marginalizing radical parts of the diaspora, which could create prerequisites for strengthening cultural penetration. However, the Moslem diaspora itself is too diverse to have a common identity. It represents different ethnic groups and different, sometimes warring, directions of Islam. "Hybrid identities" as mediums of the introduction of Islam into the public consciousness in Germany are rare, these are persons of intellectual professions or politics. Islam does not have the deep historical roots in the country that Christianity or Judaism have and has not made a decisive cultural contribution to the mentality of society. Missionary activity among Germans, conducted by local Islamists, is crossed out by terrorist attacks of visiting jihadists who seek not to convert, but to fight. Thus, even if Islam ceases to be a religion of migrants and foreigners, it will not be able to change the identity of Germany in the foreseeable future.

Keywords

Germany; Islam; «German Islam»; German identity; hybrid identity; Islamism.

DOI: 10.31249/rimm/2022.02.09

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