German interior minister questions Islam’s place in country

BERLIN: Germany’s new interior minister is positioning himself to the right of Chancellor Angela Merkel on migration, telling a newspaper that Islam is not part of Germany.
Merkel has said that Islam is part of Germany, using a phrase coined by former President Christian Wulff in 2010.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer told Friday’s Bild newspaper “Germany is characterized by Christianity.” He added, however, that “the Muslims who live with us are of course part of Germany.” He added: “My message is Muslims must live with us, not parallel to or against us.”
Seehofer’s Bavaria-only Christian Social Union, which has always taken a harder line on migration than Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, faces a state election later this year. The anti-Islam Alternative for Germany party is relatively strong in Bavaria.

source AP