Compare and contrast Blair's 12 point plan with one of the German Lander, Baden-Wurttemberg
From the Times:
OPPOSITION parties have claimed that Tony Blair has climbed down on many of the pledges in the 12-point plan to tackle terrorism that he announced after the 7/7 bombings in London.
The Prime Minister promised that “the rules were changing” to expel preachers of hate. But none has been thrown out of the country.
In contrast, the Germans are quietly defining allegiance to liberal democracy as a requirement for citizenship.
Die Zeit has a list of the questions in German, and this is the Babelfish translation. Despite its flaws, the translation gives a pretty good idea of the concepts that are sought after in the modern German citizen. I'll provide what I think is a summary (but be warned, I don't speak german, so there may be errors):
- State monopoly of force, and equal rights for men and women.
- Flaws of the democratic system.
- Valid responses to perceived religious insult in the arts.
- Response to criticism of religion.
- Response to the banning of political parties under the german constitution.
- Violence within marriage.
- Confinement of female relatives to the home to protect family honour.
- The banning of people from their own home to prevent domestic violence.
- Equality of the sexes before the law. What should the law do to those who do not accept this?
- The rights of women to take "male" jobs.
- Unsuitable jobs for women.
- Would the candidate accept treatment from a doctor of the opposite sex in an emergency?
- What is the stance of the candidate on the issue of parents forbidding a daughter a particular occupation or boyfriend? How would the candidate respond to a daughter that chose a career or boyfriend/husband of which they disapproved?
- Would the candidate approve of forced marriages?
- Would the candidate allow their daughter to participate in sports and swimming at school?
- Would the candidate allow their child to participate in school trips?
- Would the candidate allow their wife to dress as german women or girls?
- What would a female candidate do if their husband disapproved of a daughter dressing as german women or girls?
- What would the candidate do if a sister or daughter was sexually harassed?
- What would the candidate do if a son or brother was insulted?
- What does the candidate believe should happen if someone changes religion or abandons religion? Should this affect rights, such as inheritence?
- What would the candidate do if they learned that friends or acquaintances planned a terrorist attack?
- What are the views of the candidate on the perpetrators of the 9/11 and Madrid attacks? Were they terrorists or freedom fighters?
- What is the view of the candidate on honour kilings?
- What is the view of the candidate on bigamy?
- What does the candidate think of the view that the jews are responsible for most ofthe problems in the world, even including the 9/11 attacks?
- What would the candidate think if their daughter applied for something in Germany, and was rejected, then a black somilian was found to be accepted?
- What would the reaction of the candidate be if their son told them that they were homosexual, and wished to live with another man?
- In Germany, many politicians are openly gay. What is your view on openly gay people holding public office?
It isn't clear that the new policy will survive court challenge. For one thing, only moslems will face these questions. However, these questions could potentially act like "citizenship ASBOs". As I understand it, the german constitution forbids the removal of citizenship. However, since 2002, naturalised citizenship is considered void in Germany if a false statement is made in the application process. Thus, if someone provided an "approved" answer to any these questions, and then acted in a different way (for example, by campaigning against gay or women's rights), they might be liable to removal of citizenship.
Like Luther's 95 theses, these 30 questions carefully explore the boundary between modern civil society, and traditional Islamic practices. In an ideal world, an "Enlightenment Islam" would develop, which could co-exist peacefully with the Judeo-Christian tradition in Europe. I'll be watching this space...