WHY GERMANS DON'T TRUST ISLAM

Deutsche Welle writes about what makes the German population concerned about encroaching Islam. For example:

The cashier at the supermarket wears a headscarf, copies of the Koran are handed out on the streets, and mosques have become part of some cities' landscapes. Islam appears to be encroaching on life in Germany and that bothers a lot of people.

"For decades, woman fought for equal rights, and we have attained something. And now, women are choosing to wear headscarves. I don't want that and it scares me," a unversity-educated woman from Cologne says.

Her attitude is not uncommon. In the long debate over the new Cologne Central Mosque, which will be one of Europe's largest, fear and distrust of Islam have come to light and are widespread.

Well there's one legitimate concern. Whether they liked it or not, even German women didn't have fully equal rights during WW2, and in many Islamic countries, they don't have them even now.

But, here's where the bias of the editors seeps in:

Christian Democrat (CDU) politician Wolfgang Bosbach sees no general fear of Islam within the society, however, but rather a justifiable fear of Islamists who are ready to commit acts of violence. An estimated 40,000 Islamists live in Germany. A small, but significant, number of them are prone to violence.

"Those [who are ready to be violent] out of religious motivation, out of religious extremism, are a real threat to security in Germany," Bosbach said.

Eight foiled and failed terrorist attacks have made it clear that the threat is real in Germany, Bosbach says. Security agents say these people represent a very small group of people - less than one percent of Muslims are Islamists. But they shape the obviously negative image of Islam and Muslims, which leads to widespread prejudice and fear that can lead to Islamophobia.

Umm, as far as I know, 4 million Muslims live in Germany today, much more than the mere 40,000 they're claiming, and I don't understand why they're minimizing the numbers so much. And they invoke the tired modern cliche of unjustly accusing anybody rightly concerned of "Islamophobia". And it doesn't get much better with this interviewee's comments:

The overwhelming majority of Muslims who live in Germany are peaceful. Some major events have played a role in shaping the overwhelmingly negative image of Islam. After the September 11 attacks, certain stereotypes, opinions about the attitudes of Muslims, became deeply rooted in society, says [Andreas] Zick.

"Even so many years after the terrorist attacks (...), many people still associate Islam or Muslims with terrorism, with Sharia law, with a foreign religion, which doesn't fit in Germany," he adds, noting that that is a problem.

And the most violent verses in the Koran aren't? It's precisely the most repellant sections of the Koran that far exceed even the most questionable content of the Judeo-Christian writings that serve as the reason why anyone would have a problem with the Religion of Rape. So what stereotypes are we talking about here exactly? Any community that would adhere to such abhorrent belief systems is not doing anything to help alleviate legitimate concerns. And sharia is part of Islam, so why is he acting as though it weren't?

The worst part is at the end:

The imminent opening of the mosque in Cologne, early this year, could to some degree contribute to reducing fear if it takes place in an environment of openness and trust.

No, more likely it'll be in an atmosphere of taqqiya, and the mosque will only serve to make people more worried for the right reasons.