Germany is in great need of a meaningful discussion aboutIslamophobia

While Germany has witnessed public displays of support for refugees during the refugee crisis, this year has also seen the rise of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim demonstrations organised by the ‘PEGIDA’ group. Astrid Bötticher writes on these conflicting attitudes within Germany and the problem of Islamophobia exemplified by PEGIDA. She argues that Islamophobia must become a scientific rather than a political concept and that it needs to be openly discussed in Germany before it can be successfully tackled.