BERLIN — Brahms, beer and Beethoven are German, but can a Muslim head scarf be German too?
Islamic communities throughout this country are beginning to wonder. What it means to be German is an excruciating riddle, not something casually broached in a cafe. But efforts to sharpen national identity through new citizenship tests have caused a furor over accusations that Muslims are being unfairly targeted for exclusion by questions concerning head scarves, arranged marriages, homosexuality and Israel's right to exist.
The tests are the latest point of contention in a cultural battle over the integration of millions of Muslims on a continent wary of terrorist attacks, such as the ones in London and Madrid. They are another indication that Europe is struggling with how to temper nationalism and anxiety while defining citizenship for an immigrant Muslim population restless over what it views as generations of discrimination.
The tests are idiosyncratically German, demanding a breadth of arcane knowledge that might prove difficult for even the most patriotic Bavarian soul. Questions include details on German mountain ranges, a 19th century seaside painting and the discovery by a German scientist who, outside advanced physics classes, has long since lost his cachet. One can almost hear the collective riffle of encyclopedia pages in living rooms and study halls across the nation.
But it is the questions layered between the inquiries on German geography, history and music that have agitated Muslims. A test in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg and a proposed exam in the state of Hesse gauge Muslim sensitivities in an attempt to filter out religious conservatives and potential extremists.
Baden-Wuerttemberg requires an education course and a 30-question oral test to determine whether an immigrant supports issues such as women's rights and religious diversity. The test is graded at the discretion of the interviewer. Some state officials suggest that the exam may be illegal because a provision allows citizenship to be revoked if it is found that an applicant masked his religious or fundamentalist tendencies.
Question 27 is typical of the test's tone: "Some people consider the Jews responsible for all the evil in the world and even claim they are behind the Sept. 11 attack in New York. What do you think about such suggestions?"
