In a change of policy, the head of Germany’s Central Council of Muslims has called for a limit on the number of migrants the country takes in, saying capacity will soon be exhausted.
Aiman Mazyek — Chairman of Germany’s largest Muslim organisation, the Central Council of Muslims (ZMD) — has warned against the uncontrolled reception of migrants to the country. In an interview with German newspaper Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung Mr. Mazyek said:
“Morally, there may be no upper limit because of the values of our constitution and our historic responsibility. Practically, however, it seems this limit will obviously be reached soon in Germany.”
Mr. Mazyek said that his fellow Muslims have a particular responsibility for helping in the migrant crisis, pointing out that Muslims have indeed already provided a lot of assistance. In his opinion more could still be achieved, he explained:
“But you could achieve even more if the state and society would support us and have more confidence in our integration schemes.
“Distrust of religion in general and fear of Islam after Paris, even though Muslims themselves are the main targets and victims of terrorists in the world, significantly affects integration work with refugees.”
Mr. Mazyek said the influx of thousands of migrants means the number of Muslims in Germany has increased by around 25 per cent in recent months, which for Muslims already living in the country has meant a change in how they live.
The policy change expressed by the ZMD means that it now agrees with the Central Council of Jews. It also recently called for a ceiling on the number of migrants accepted by Germany, with Chairman Josef Schuster citing his community’s experience of integrating Russian-born Jews into German life.
The anti-mass migration Eurosceptic political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), also sees Mr. Mazyek’s comments as a vindication of their position, reports The Local. It Tweeted: “The Central Council of Muslims goes public with the AfD’s demand: asylum needs limits!”