EXPLAINER - Germany: A state that lost its image as a multicultural haven

By Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - Germany is home to more than 84 million people and hosts the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France, but the country cannot seem to avoid racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and discrimination.

Figures published in May 2021 taint the country's image as a multicultural society as the number of violent attacks by the far-right and all forms of discrimination saw a major spike in the previous year.

According to the German government, the country saw over 23,000 attacks by far-right extremists in 2020, a nearly 20% increase from 2019, while a total of 1,026 Islamophobic crimes were recorded in 2020 compared with 950 in 2019 and 910 in 2018.

On April 12 this year, two German police officers in the western city of Duisburg were seen handcuffing Emirhan Altintas, a 13-year-old Turkish boy, for allegedly tearing an election poster. One of the officers was pressing the boy's chest with his knee.

His family said they will sue the German police over the violence against their son.

On Feb. 19, 2020, a major attack by a far-right extremist, Tobias Rathjen, claimed the lives of nine people in the city of Hanau. All of the victims had migrant backgrounds.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said two years after the terror attack that many questions remain unanswered.

“The state owes the families of the victims a transparent and full investigation,” she said in a statement, promising to do everything to uncover all the details.

Faeser also promised that her ministry will prepare a comprehensive action plan to combat racism and right-wing extremism.

She recently said they will dismantle far-right networks and stop their financial activities.