The Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets shows that Europe’s view of Islam is still plagued by fear and ignorance.

The Swiss vote to ban the building of minarets has led to a global outbreak of irritation and indignation. On the surface this may have concerned a building ban, but the core issue was a different one: Minarets make crystal clear the deep-seated change our society is undergoing, through the immigration of people with different cultural backgrounds and religions. Those who ban the building of minarets want this social change to stay invisible. They are ignoring reality and hoping that Muslim believers will continue to exercise their religion behind the scenes, in prayer rooms in back-to-back houses or out of the way on industrial estates. This attempt to drive it to the proverbial margins of society represents would be exclusion.

We must recognise that Islam has become part of our society, just as it is part of all European societies. More than three million believers in a form of Islam live in Germany. For the most part, we brought them into our country decades ago as »guest workers«. They and their children today are citizens, and often also Germans with all the rights and duties arising from this fact. Until a few years ago, eleven years ago to be precise, this was ignored. For a long time, the prevailing view was that Germany was not a country of immigration. When I became Chancellor in 1998, it was important for me to stop us from living a lie. That was why we passed a modern immigration law which controls migration in a transparent way, but which supports integration at the same time. We also fundamentally altered the law on citizenship, and added to the principle of ancestry – you could only be a German if you were descended from Germans – the so-called principle of birthplace. Whoever is born in our country can obtain German citizenship. These were important first steps.

People from other countries and cultures who live with us and wish to go on living with us have to make a clear and unmistakable commitment to our legal order and our rules of democracy. It is no accident that we describe the values of democracy and enlightenment as universal values. And they are values which must also be accepted and followed by those who come from another culture. They are the basis of our life together, irrespective of cultural differences.

But integration is not the same as assimilation. It must not mean the wish to destroy cultural and religious differences. Such an approach to integration is doomed to failure. There is no shortage of people, particularly in conservative parties, whose aim is precisely that. The fact that Islam and the Muslims in our country have a negative image encourages this approach. This view is largely defined by negatives – for example, by emphasising the problems of integration, the conflicts over banning the hijab, the rare cases of forced marriage or the struggle against international terrorism, which is portrayed as having a religious motivation.

However, we should resist distortions and premature generalisations. Unfortunately, in past years these prejudices have become more and more influential in our ideas about Muslim societies and the Islamic religion. It is all too easy to make thoughtless judgments, based partly on sheer ignorance. But anyone who wishes to resist prejudices must be prepared to differentiate. We should remind ourselves what the culture of our society is based on: respect for other cultures, tolerance towards those who think and believe differently, respect for variety and differences. We must not allow what is foreign to be perceived automatically as hostile. Recognising the other as your equal is a form of cultural progress which distinguishes our country, and which we wish to support everywhere in the world. Fairness forms part of differentiation, and that must characterise the way we treat any minority.

Islam is in no sense a monolithic block, as is often claimed in the current debate. On the contrary; Islam has many varieties, and the Muslim societies also vary widely. We should not define human beings simply and solely by their religion. Every person acts within the framework of his social conditions, which are not only defined by religion, but also by economic, social and political factors. That applies to Muslims as it does to Christians, Hindus or Buddhists. We should stop producing sweeping generalisations about » Islam«.

Our historical experience obliges us to be tolerant

Just as it is a fact that Muslims live in our European continent, so it is a fact that for centuries we have been shaped by the academic and cultural exchange with the Islamic world. In the Middle Ages it was Arab scholars who supplied the world with the key to medicine and astronomy, chemistry and mathematics, and not least to the rediscovery of classical philosophy. The Islamic culture has given us architectural wonders, splendid literature and music. This influence has culturally enriched us, just as the cultural influences of the West are changing the Muslim world. The »West« does not just have Judaeo-Christian roots, but Muslim ones as well.

Islam is not a political ideology, but a peaceful religion. That is what the Koran teaches. And that is what more than a billion people believe, who like everyone else wish to live in peace, prosperity and security. Dialogue between religions is important to achieve peace, because in every religion there are fundamentalist minorities. But if we allow these minorities to dictate how we should live together, we will already have lost. And if the false accusation is made that Islam is violent and bellicose, then we Europeans, and especially we Germans, should take a look at our own history. It was the Christian states of Europe which colonised other countries in the 19th and 20th centuries, many of which have a Muslim population. And it was not Islamic states which were guilty of starting the two world wars of the last century. We have no reason for arrogance towards others. Historical experience obliges us to be tolerant, which is not the same thing as apathy or indifference.

Now an argument is often advanced in the debate about the construction of mosques and minarets. It runs: »As long as nobody is allowed to build Christian churches in Islamic countries, we should not allow any mosques to be built here.« What this argument forgets is: Millions of Christians live for example in Lebanon, Egypt and Syria. But even where Christian parishes are being created from scratch, the building of churches is permitted, for example in the ambitious Gulf states or in Indonesia. There is an undeniable lack of religious freedom in some Islamic states, but they cannot serve as an excuse to restrict rights in our own country. We perceive ourselves as an enlightened society. And enlightenment does not mean repeating the shortcomings of other societies in our own. Freedom of religion is of great value, which is why it is rightly protected under our Basic Law.

In Turkey we see fundamental democratisation

The term enlightenment must not be used for the purpose of discrimination. Thus it is sometimes claimed that Christian societies are enlightened and Muslim ones are not. Here there is a crying need for differentiation, instead of arrogantly lording it over others. Of course there is enlightenment in Islam too. In our European societies live millions of enlightened Muslims who share our basic values and are completely integrated. They are professionally successful, for example as lawyers, engineers, academics and entrepreneurs. German Muslims serve and fight in our armed forces, are excellent sportsmen and do unpaid, voluntary work in clubs. They are therefore »highly productive«, even though that is frequently called in question.

It is one of the duties of an enlightened society to recognise the success of these people, quite irrespective of their religious background. The word »Muslim« is quite often used to exclude someone. After the rather painful conflict over the award of the Hesse Prize for Culture to the author Navid Kermani, the prize-winner stated in a remarkable speech: »Yes, I’m a Muslim, and yes, I’m a writer. But I’m not a Muslim writer… I’m a German writer.« And he is absolutely right. We don‘t describe Günter Grass as a »Christian Nobel prize-winner either«.

It is not just our picture of the Muslims in our country which must change, but also our picture of the Islamic states, which stretch from West Africa through North Africa and the Middle East to Southeast Asia. They include backward and progressive countries, authoritarian and democratic systems, failing and successful economies.

And when we classify them in this way, then they are no different from other countries with other religious backgrounds. During and after my period in office I built up many links to the Islamic world on a number of visits to Islamic countries. And personalities such as the reformist former Iranian President Chatami, Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan or the members of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi impressed me. Like many others, they are working hard to modernise their societies, both politically and economically.

And if we look in particular at Turkey, there too we can see the success of the modernising process. That is almost entirely to do with the policies of Prime Minister Erdogan and the country’s EU entry process. Under Erdogan‘s leadership, Turkey has changed and modernised more than anyone could have imagined ten years ago in his wildest dreams. We see a fundamental democratisation of the country. And the steps which are currently being taken are really historic in character.

Because with the recognition of the Kurdish minority, the attempt is being made to achieve a peaceful settlement and permanent solution to a long and bloody conflict. Equally important in terms of both domestic and foreign policy is the rapprochement begun with the Christian state of Armenia. This process of reconciliation at long last holds out the prospect of bringing peace to the conflict-ridden Caucasus region. The European Union and the international community are well advised to support these two political decisions, but especially the development linked to them. The rapprochement with Armenia is part of Turkey’s foreign policy concept which is aimed at creating stability and peace in the whole region. Turkey as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East — the significance of this cannot be overestimated, and it is in our interests as Europeans. That is why Turkish membership of the European Union is of great importance for the security policy of our entire continent.

A changed view of the Islamic world and a changed view of the Muslims living in our country and in Europe are urgently required. It is a task for the whole of society, and all the forces in our country must face up to it – politics, economics, culture and the media. The media above all have the task of reporting in a fair and balanced way. But the greatest contribution to integration can come from every individual. Why not invite your Muslim neighbour, colleague or fellow club-member round? Understanding only grows when we meet one another and develop a common interest. Living together in multicultural societies cannot be conflict-free. It does not have to be conflict-free either, but what is essential is that these conflicts are solved through peaceful dialogue. This is not about a struggle between cultures, but a struggle for culture. For that we do not need to be afraid of church spires or minarets.

The German version of this essay was published by DIE ZEIT