Berlin wants to sever the financial and institutional ties between local Muslim communities and the Turkish government as part of a bold campaign to help German Muslims develop a homegrown version of Islam.
“What we need now is an Islam for German Muslims that belongs to Germany,” Markus Kerber, the top civil servant in the German interior ministry, said in an interview with the Financial Times. “That does not mean that we want to develop a new theology. It means that German Muslims have to decide: what kind of Islam do we want here?”
Mr Kerber, who is the official in charge of relations between the government and the country’s 4m-strong Muslim community, added: “Our goals are: to reduce foreign influence — both financial and personal — on Germany’s Muslim community; to ensure that imams preaching in Germany are trained in Germany; and to ensure that Muslims are better integrated in German society when it comes to issues of everyday life.”