Accept European Values or Stay Out

Accept European Values or Stay Out

Prayer in an Ahmadiyya mosque in Saint-Prix, France.

Godong/UIG/Getty Images

‘There are better places in the world to live, according to sharia, than Europe.’

By Josué Michels • April 18

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble recently made a strong statement against the ongoing Muslim migration to Europe.

Speaking at a panel discussion in Berlin on Wednesday, Mr. Schäuble strongly criticized the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, blaming him for carrying his conflicts to Germany: “It is quite annoying, what this man does,” Schäuble said (Trumpet translation throughout). He explained that, in principle, Muslims are welcome in Germany, but many come with wrong expectations.

Schäuble said that when Muslims arrive, they need to know that they must accept the European way of life and all of Europe’s basic values. “If that does not suit them,” he said, “… you made a wrong decision in coming here. There are better places in the world to live, according to sharia, than Europe.”

On April 7, Schäuble told the Rheinische Post that Muslims living together with a largely non-Muslim population need structure. “We indeed have many problems with the integration of a predominantly Muslim population, which we have to solve,” he said. “In this regard, Jens Spahn and others address legitimate topics.” Spahn is a member of the Christian Democratic Union in Germany who supports the establishment of an “Islam law” that calls for stricter regulations on what is being preached in German mosques.

At the beginning of the migrant crisis, Trumpet columnist Brad Macdonald wrote:

Perhaps the greatest effect of the refugee crisis, together with Russia’s dramatic resurgence and Europe’s rolling financial problems, is the way it is causing Europe to shed this postwar veneer and return to its past. Being tolerant feels good, until hundreds of thousands of foreigners enter your nation and expect you to foot the bill. Being multicultural is wonderful, until Muslims waving Islamic State flags and eyeing your teenage daughter settle in your village. Being antiwar feels righteous, until Russian tanks roll across the border. …

Tolerance is being replaced by prejudice, multiculturalism by patriotism, the community spirit with a greater determination for self-preservation and self-advancement.

The demons of the past are returning, and they are provoking the most significant transformation in Europe since the Second World War.

Last year, Germany faced a series of terrorist attacks as well as various sexual assaults committed by immigrants. The problem, as Schäuble puts it, is undeniable. The question is how to deal with it. We at the Trumpet have expected Europe’s mood toward its neighbor to change—dramatically—and to cause Europe’s old demons to return.