The German Review of Books

By Felix Struening

“Islam means peace” vs. “Islam is the greatest threat to the free world”. Between these two extremes a hot debate is developing for years, in which left and right wing, populists and scientists, do-gooders and racists place their arguments. Thorsten Gerald Schneiders, a German Islam and political scientist, made the honorable attempt to create clarification with the book project “Glorification of Islam versus Emnityof Islam”. And he failed in a splendid way.  Read more...

Islam itself is the problem – as the Muslim use of sex, money and violence prevents integration!

By Felix Struening

“Islam is not just a belief, it is a way of life, a violent way of life.”, and “I believe that the subjection of women within Islam is the biggest obstacle to the integration and progress of Muslim communities in the West.” These are the two key messages of the probably best known critic of Islam, Ayaan Hirsi Ali. It is aimed not so much to the Muslims themselves, rather than to Western politicians and citizens. First, they have to understand the meaning of the gift of democracy and political freedom. And secondly, that it is Islam that threatens exactly this.  Read more...

By Felix Struening

Nearly monthly, new studies and books about the problems with the integration of Muslims in Germany and whole Europe are published. In France, Great Britain and the Netherlands the problems seem to be most obviously, but also in small Denmark. In the aftermath of the Mohammed-cartoon crisis, there have been some changes concerning Muslims in politics and public opinion. The German Review of Books talked to Nicolai Sennels, a psychologist who worked for several years with young criminal Muslims in a Copenhagen prison, about recent developments.  Read more...

Who integrates successfully – outstanding study distinguishes migrants by their country of origin and seals the fate of multiculturalism!

By Felix Struening

“Immigrants tend on average to be more poorly educated and more frequently unemployed and to participate less in public life than the native population.” This first finding of the study “Unutilised Potentials” of the “Berlin-Institute for Population and Development” is not surprising at all. Yet behind the unassuming title, figures are conceal that are that brisance and distinct; it is hard to beat. The study is the first one in Germany that compared the success of integration of migrant groups from different countries of origin. For critical observers, the fact that the Turks got the worst results is hardly surprising, but it is a slap in the face for the defenders of multiculturism in Germany.  Read more...

Why is Germany, as it is, or the disastrous consequences of the 1968-generation – a splendid and polemical analysis!

“Who is left, lives in the beautiful awareness, to be in the right, yes, simply to be allways right. In Germany, leftists don’t have to justify their view.” This general absolution of any (mis-)behavior is because of the missing of conservatives in all places where cultural and social decisions are made. “Go into any theater, a museum or an open-air: You will soon discover that ideas outside the leftist imagination, have no place in there. [...] The left won a comprehensive victory, it has become the Juste Milieu of those people, who define our culture.”  Read more...

Why does one have to question even democracy and why it might not be better than autocracy – global political issues in a brilliant essay!

By Felix Struening

The current geopolitical situation is characterized by a resurgence of the former great powers. The concept of the – mainly European and American – democracy is called into question by the successes of the autocratic regimes like China and Russia. Robert Kagan, foreign policy adviser to Republican presidential candidate John McCain in 2008, already started in 2003 a broad discussion with his book “Of Paradise and Power. America and Europe in the New World Order”. Now he presents with “The Return of History” an essay that deals intensively with the conflict between democracy and autocracy. Thereby, he questiones the legitimacy of the hegemony of the United States as well as the domination of the democratic model itself.  Read more...

By Felix Struening

Jan Fleischhauer is a well known editor of the German magazine “Der Spiegel”. In 2009, he published one of the most disputatious books regarding the political situation in Germany over the last 40 years. “Among Leftists” (Unter Linken) immediately entered the bestseller list but was attacked at the same time by many critics. We spoke with the author about the actuality of the left-right schema, German students and Henryk M. Broder.

Mr. Fleischhauer, your book “Among Leftists” (Unter Linken) hits the (conservative) nail on the head. Why didn’t you write this book earlier? Was it previously not possible?  Read more...

By Felix Struening

The year 2009 was a super election year in Germany. A total of 17 elections were held, including the election of the European Parliament and the German Federal President. The most important were of course the parliamentary elections (for the Bundestag). The newly-elected conservative-liberal government will be observed with great excitement: will there be changes, after four years of the grand coalition, which certainly had had the necessary majority of votes in parliament to effect change but ultimately lacked the will to do so. All this has led to political apathy; voter-turnout in 2009 was the lowest it has ever been.  Read more...

How Islam changes Europe or the end of the welfare state – incisive analysis without mincing matters in a politically correct way!

By Felix Struening

“Can Europe be the same, with different people in it?”, aks the U.S. journalist Christopher Caldwell. His answer is a resounding and distinct “No”. The Muslim mass immigration during the past 50 years has already changed Europe a lot. By the year 2050, family reunion and the Muslim fertility rate will do the rest. European politicians previously overestimated the necessity of foreign workers and still don’t understand the cultue-shaping power of Islam. As a consequence, the welfare state will soon collapse, and the political changes will be far-reaching.  Read more...