Berlin’s foreign policy establishment is growing increasingly uneasy at the anti-Islam rhetoric deployed by the Christian Social Union (CSU), a conservative coalition partner of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU). In particular, foreign ministry officials fear that recent attacks on Kuwait Airways by CSU ministers could impact Germany’s relations with the Muslim world.
Under pressure from the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, senior CSU figures have made provocative statements on Islam in recent weeks. Immediately after taking office, Horst Seehofer, Germany’s interior minister and the CSU chairman, claimed “Islam is not a part of Germany”.
Mr. Seehofer’s statement was challenged by Ms. Merkel, and was widely criticized as damaging the country’s efforts to integrate its minority populations. However, CSU ministers have continued to make publicity-grabbing statements on Islam, in what is clearly a coordinated effort to win back support from the AfD ahead of October’s Bavarian regional elections.