Turkey's Prime Minister tells Turks living in Germany not to Assimilate

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Germany recently and had a message for the some 3 million Turks living in that country; assimilating is a 'crime against humanity.' This would be the equivalent of Felipe Calderon coming to the United States and telling Mexicans living here to pledge allegiance to their national heritage over the country in which they now live. There's no word yet on whether Erdogan is ok with allowing Germans in Turkey to do the same but somehow I doubt it.

Via Der Spiegel:

During a speech before around 10,000 people of Turkish descent in Düsseldorf, Erdogan once again raised the subject of assimilation. "Yes, integrate yourselves into German society but don't assimilate yourselves. No one has the right to deprive us of our culture an our identity," Erdogan said. His visit has been perceived as a stop in his campaign for re-election in a vote scheduled for the summer.

Most German politicians seemed to have very few misgivings about the content of the Turkish leader's speech. But one line did manage to spark a political debate on Monday and Tuesday. "Our children must learn German," Erdogan said, "but they must first learn good Turkish."

This should add further credence to the claims that Turkey is rapidly becoming a more Islamist nation. Der Spiegel also quotes from a leftwing publication in Germany; the writer clearly doesn't understand the threat:

"Berlin is dealing with a government in Ankara that is modernizing itself with a view to desired future EU membership, one that respects the rules of democracy and has also shown impressive economic growth. In the coming years, Turkey will continue to increase its position as a regional power, and its development could serve as a model for the compatibility of Islam and democracy. That applies even more so following revolutions in North Africa that have seen several Islamic countries seek their own path into the future."

"Germany needs Turkey as a partner in its integration policies. And it needs Turkey as a strategically important member of the EU."

As Turkey becomes more and more Islamist, Germans who believe Democracy and Islam can co-exist will one day find out the hard way that it cannot.

Read it all.

h/t WND