June 6, 2016
By Anthoney Faiola
Erfurt, Germany - This medieval city of timber-framed buildings (click here) and cobblestone streets is on the front lines of the escalating culture war over Islam in the West.Donald Trump may be calling for a ban on Muslims visiting the United States. But on this side of the Atlantic, Islam is also under fire, with political opposition to the faith growing as an anti-Muslim message emerges as the rallying cry of Europe’s far right.In few places is the shift more startling than here in Germany, where Islamist terrorism in neighboring nations and a record wave of Middle Eastern migrants are testing the national will to protect minority rights adopted after World War II.Once a libertarian force opposed to the euro and Greek bailouts, the fast-growing Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) has now squarely joined the anti-Islam ranks.In recent weeks, the AfD unveiled a scathing denunciation of the faith, warning against “the expansion and presence of a growing number of Muslims” on German soil....
By Anthoney Faiola
Erfurt, Germany - This medieval city of timber-framed buildings (click here) and cobblestone streets is on the front lines of the escalating culture war over Islam in the West.Donald Trump may be calling for a ban on Muslims visiting the United States. But on this side of the Atlantic, Islam is also under fire, with political opposition to the faith growing as an anti-Muslim message emerges as the rallying cry of Europe’s far right.In few places is the shift more startling than here in Germany, where Islamist terrorism in neighboring nations and a record wave of Middle Eastern migrants are testing the national will to protect minority rights adopted after World War II.Once a libertarian force opposed to the euro and Greek bailouts, the fast-growing Alternative for Germany Party (AfD) has now squarely joined the anti-Islam ranks.In recent weeks, the AfD unveiled a scathing denunciation of the faith, warning against “the expansion and presence of a growing number of Muslims” on German soil....
