Germany’s president, visiting Turkey, said Turkish immigrants were a good influence but urged newcomers to “integrate responsibly”.
Wulff addressed Turkish lawmakers at the parliament in capital Ankara, saying Turkey was a major asset for Europe as a bridge between the East and the West.
“Many people of Turkish origin have established roots in Germany … many have become German citizens. That is a good sign. I would encourage everyone to integrate responsibly,” Christian Wulff said on Tuesday.
“Committed to the West with an active and stability-building policy in the East and as a bridge between the East and the West, Turkey is a great asset for Europe,” Wulff said.
The German president stated that his country monitored closely a recent overhaul of parts of Turkey’s constitution in a referendum, saying “Turkey has moved closer to standards of the European Union by adopting these reforms. I would like to support and encourage you to move ahead on this path.”
“I believe that Turkey has a great opportunity to show that Islam did not contradict with democracy, the rule of law and pluralism. Turkey reconciles a vibrant Islam with a modern democracy. Turkey looks on both the East and the West. Germany specifically supports the continuation of Turkey’s march on the path to the EU. We are committed to the decision that Turkey’s open-ended negotiations with EU be pursued fairly and expect Turkey to fulfill its own obligations,” Wulff said.
Wulff noted that Muslims in Germany are “free to practice their religious duties”, which he said was confirmed by the growing number of mosques in the country.
“We believe that Christian living in Muslim nations also have the same right to live their religions freely. We believe that they must be able to build their churches and train their religious clerks. We believe that people in Turkey and in Germany and in any other country should be granted equal rights and opportunities regardless of their religious backgrounds. We see that Christianity has a long past in Turkey. Christianity obviously belongs to Turkey, too,” Wulff said.
Wulff said he welcomed the growing number of Turkish people who supported the opening of new churches and the conducting of services there.
Merkel, who is under pressure from the conservative wing of her Christian Democratic Union, said this weekend Germany’s bid to create a multicultural society had “utterly failed”.
Earlier this month, following the resignation of central banker Thilo Sarrazin after making blunt comments about Muslims and Jews, Wulff urged Germany to accept its four million Muslims as part of society.
Wulff said then, “Islam belongs to Germany” and echoed that by saying “Christianity belongs to Turkey”.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to expand rights for religious minorities to meet the standards of the European Union.
President Abdullah Gul met Wulff earlier on Tuesday and thanked him for supporting Germany’s Muslims and backed his calls for newcomers to Germany to integrate.
“It is a duty for all of us to ensure every citizen speaks the language of the country they reside in fluently,” Gul said. “The use of integration issues for political capital should be avoided, everybody must contribute to a solution instead.”
Agencies