Those of you who know of Thilo Sarrazin are certain to have strong opinions on him. When his name came up during yesterday's programme in Berlin, there was a notable frisson among the group. He talks about subjects - Muslim integration, racial groups varying in their ability to learn, the dilution of national culture - that have been off-limits in the mainstream media in Germany. They aren't anymore.
His book - Germany Abolishes Itself - has sold in the region of a million copies and has shifted the whole debate on immigration in Germany. Thilo Sarrazin will be on the programme for the full hour taking your questions. We can't tell you which studio we're using in Berlin because of security reasons which tells you all you need to know about the potency of his opinions.
His book calls for various measures to tackle what he sees as a failure to integrate or contribute adequately. They include:
- Welfare payments being dependent on learning German and acquiring language skills.
- Parents who do not send their children to school for religious reasons should be fined.
- Forced marriages should be forbidden.
He also blames Muslims for many of Germany's problems. In his book he says that Muslim immigrants are a drain on German society. The quote is, "Most of the cultural and economic problems are concentrated in a group of the five to six million immigrants from Muslim countries".
He also believes that certain racial groups have certain genes which mean the groups vary in their ability to learn - and in one interview he gave Jews as an example of this.
He's since said that he regrets saying that, but hasn't retracted the general assertion that some people have genes which mean they are able to learn better and become more intelligent.
On this issue of immigration he argues that 'suppressing emotion is even more dangerous' than talking about immigration. Others argue that Germany of all places needs to be very careful wile handling these issues.
There's an enormous amount online about Thilo Sarrazin. You won't have any trouble finding it, but here are some links to sites I've used while prepping for the show.
Der Spiegel has published a detailed critique of Thilo Sarrazin's arguments.
These are some of the best known quotes from Thilo Sarrazin.
This is the NY Times' take.
Here's a piece by Rose-Anne Clermont who be in the show. She has Haitian parents but has lived here for some time. 'Integration in Theory, Alienation in Practice' is the headline...
And last but not least Sara from the WHYS team has been uploading pictures from one of the areas in Berlin which Thilo Sarrazin uses an example of how Muslims are not integrating or contributing as they ought to.
Please post your comments and questions for Thilo Sarrazin.
Your comments
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:52
113631290
Cadmun emails the 大象传媒: I am an African living in the UK and married to an English woman. I appreciate Mr.Sarrazin's courage in speaking out on immigration and integration.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:50
113631290
Lovorko posted on Facebook: I lived in Germany as a refugee. My own German friends would criticize immigrants in front of me, especially the Turks. I left for the US to attend college. Here I do not see this kind of prejudice , they celebrate differences.
Comment sent via SMS
18:50
116237123
Hello this is Lestina texting from Connecticut, USA. I happen to be finishing up the book Infidel by Ayaan Ali Hirsi. Muslim underachievement and failure to integrate into Dutch society is the whole issue of her book!!! She would agree 100% with your guest鈥檚 views! She (a former Muslim from Somalia, who became a refugee in Holland and then later a member of Dutch Parliament) makes no bones about BLAMING Islam for this exact problem in Holland. Because Islam prevents it鈥檚 followers--especially women-- from free choice, free thinking, free association with non- Muslims, etc she argues that the "culture" ofMuslims remains inferior, violent, etc. She also blames the liberal do-gooder attitudes of white Europeans who preach "multiculturalism" and say everyone should respect Islam just like other religions. She says that Islam is NOT like other religions and is in fact the cause of all this suffering and underachievement for Muslims around the world.
Comment sent via Feed
18:47
113631290
Ryan in Antigua who is German citizen called to say: I'm a fan of Sarrazin. When I was living in Scotland, i met Indian women who had been living in the UK for 20 years and couldn't speak any english. It's the same in Hanover where i'm from but with Turkish people. People never integrated, which makes it difficult for their kids. At home they're in Turkey, at school they're in Germany
Comment sent via Facebook
18:44
113631290
Isabelle posts on Facebook: I find Mr Sarrazin's view somewhat simplistic. To begin with, how can he put say a Senegalese, Indonesian and Pakistani - all most probably muslims - in the same bucket and from one factor they share deduct their social behaviour?
Comment sent via SMS
18:36
116236821
Ridiculous and a bit childish. If immigrants are not talking to you then don鈥檛 talk to them. You don鈥檛 need to know everyone to be happy
Roland
Canada
Comment sent via Facebook
18:23
113631290
Felix asks on Facebook: What does he think is necessary to "solve the problem" of integration?
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:21
113631290
Patrizio in Italy emailed: My name is Patrizio and I used to live in Germany. I left Germany because of racism. I used to work there and I am really disgusted of what Germany has become.
Comment sent via Twitter
18:21
116236606
@大象传媒_WHYS is he even serious? TURN OFF HIS MIC. I'm not even muslim and I'm offended!!
Comment sent via Twitter
18:20
115065623
@大象传媒_WHYS Mr Sarrazin views sound pretty racist to me. He is making generalizations and stereotypes based on race/religion
Comment sent via Facebook
18:18
113631290
Dennis got in touch through facebook: Europeans should integrate when they settle in other continents too, the misplaced sense of cultural superiority does not wash.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
18:17
113631290
Kelley in Canada emailed WHYS: I have been a student in Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. My experience is that I experienced racism against me as a white female in Europe that I have never experienced here at home.
Comment sent via Twitter
18:14
115065623
RT @大象传媒_WHYS Thilo Sarrazin: "I'm not dividing Germany - all the integration problems come from immigrants who arrive from Muslim countries"
Comment sent via Facebook
18:11
113631290
George in Nairobi writes on facebook: If you want acceptance you must blend in. Anyone going to germany should be like a chameleon on snow .Changing the outside to resemble your environment, while keeping your core intact.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:10
113631290
Abdiwahab in Egypt writes: Muslims shouldn't accept German values but respect them, you can't push away other people's norms and beliefs simply because they are immigrants.
Comment sent via host
18:03
113631290
On air now: Post your questions for Thilo Sarrazin here.
Thilo Sarrazin live from Berlin
| Tuesday, 1 Jan. 2011 | 17:50 - 17:50 GMT
Those of you who know of Thilo Sarrazin are certain to have strong opinions on him. When his name came up during yesterday's programme in Berlin, there was a notable frisson among the group. He talks about subjects - Muslim integration, racial groups varying in their ability to learn, the dilution of national culture - that have been off-limits in the mainstream media in Germany. They aren't anymore.
His book - Germany Abolishes Itself - has sold in the region of a million copies and has shifted the whole debate on immigration in Germany. Thilo Sarrazin will be on the programme for the full hour taking your questions. We can't tell you which studio we're using in Berlin because of security reasons which tells you all you need to know about the potency of his opinions.
His book calls for various measures to tackle what he sees as a failure to integrate or contribute adequately. They include:
- Welfare payments being dependent on learning German and acquiring language skills.
- Parents who do not send their children to school for religious reasons should be fined.
- Forced marriages should be forbidden.
He also blames Muslims for many of Germany's problems. In his book he says that Muslim immigrants are a drain on German society. The quote is, "Most of the cultural and economic problems are concentrated in a group of the five to six million immigrants from Muslim countries".
He also believes that certain racial groups have certain genes which mean the groups vary in their ability to learn - and in one interview he gave Jews as an example of this.
He's since said that he regrets saying that, but hasn't retracted the general assertion that some people have genes which mean they are able to learn better and become more intelligent.
On this issue of immigration he argues that 'suppressing emotion is even more dangerous' than talking about immigration. Others argue that Germany of all places needs to be very careful wile handling these issues.
There's an enormous amount online about Thilo Sarrazin. You won't have any trouble finding it, but here are some links to sites I've used while prepping for the show.
Der Spiegel has published a detailed critique of Thilo Sarrazin's arguments.
These are some of the best known quotes from Thilo Sarrazin.
This is the NY Times' take.
Here's a piece by Rose-Anne Clermont who be in the show. She has Haitian parents but has lived here for some time. 'Integration in Theory, Alienation in Practice' is the headline...
And last but not least Sara from the WHYS team has been uploading pictures from one of the areas in Berlin which Thilo Sarrazin uses an example of how Muslims are not integrating or contributing as they ought to.
Please post your comments and questions for Thilo Sarrazin.
Your comments
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Cadmun emails the 大象传媒: I am an African living in the UK and married to an English woman. I appreciate Mr.Sarrazin's courage in speaking out on immigration and integration.
Comment sent via Facebook
Lovorko posted on Facebook: I lived in Germany as a refugee. My own German friends would criticize immigrants in front of me, especially the Turks. I left for the US to attend college. Here I do not see this kind of prejudice , they celebrate differences.
Comment sent via SMS
Hello this is Lestina texting from Connecticut, USA. I happen to be finishing up the book Infidel by Ayaan Ali Hirsi. Muslim underachievement and failure to integrate into Dutch society is the whole issue of her book!!! She would agree 100% with your guest鈥檚 views! She (a former Muslim from Somalia, who became a refugee in Holland and then later a member of Dutch Parliament) makes no bones about BLAMING Islam for this exact problem in Holland. Because Islam prevents it鈥檚 followers--especially women-- from free choice, free thinking, free association with non- Muslims, etc she argues that the "culture" ofMuslims remains inferior, violent, etc. She also blames the liberal do-gooder attitudes of white Europeans who preach "multiculturalism" and say everyone should respect Islam just like other religions. She says that Islam is NOT like other religions and is in fact the cause of all this suffering and underachievement for Muslims around the world.
Comment sent via Feed
Ryan in Antigua who is German citizen called to say: I'm a fan of Sarrazin. When I was living in Scotland, i met Indian women who had been living in the UK for 20 years and couldn't speak any english. It's the same in Hanover where i'm from but with Turkish people. People never integrated, which makes it difficult for their kids. At home they're in Turkey, at school they're in Germany
Comment sent via Facebook
Isabelle posts on Facebook: I find Mr Sarrazin's view somewhat simplistic. To begin with, how can he put say a Senegalese, Indonesian and Pakistani - all most probably muslims - in the same bucket and from one factor they share deduct their social behaviour?
Comment sent via SMS
Ridiculous and a bit childish. If immigrants are not talking to you then don鈥檛 talk to them. You don鈥檛 need to know everyone to be happy Roland Canada
Comment sent via Facebook
Felix asks on Facebook: What does he think is necessary to "solve the problem" of integration?
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Patrizio in Italy emailed: My name is Patrizio and I used to live in Germany. I left Germany because of racism. I used to work there and I am really disgusted of what Germany has become.
Comment sent via Twitter
@大象传媒_WHYS is he even serious? TURN OFF HIS MIC. I'm not even muslim and I'm offended!!
Comment sent via Twitter
@大象传媒_WHYS Mr Sarrazin views sound pretty racist to me. He is making generalizations and stereotypes based on race/religion
Comment sent via Facebook
Dennis got in touch through facebook: Europeans should integrate when they settle in other continents too, the misplaced sense of cultural superiority does not wash.
Comment sent via YOURSAY
Kelley in Canada emailed WHYS: I have been a student in Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Germany. My experience is that I experienced racism against me as a white female in Europe that I have never experienced here at home.
Comment sent via Twitter
RT @大象传媒_WHYS Thilo Sarrazin: "I'm not dividing Germany - all the integration problems come from immigrants who arrive from Muslim countries"
Comment sent via Facebook
George in Nairobi writes on facebook: If you want acceptance you must blend in. Anyone going to germany should be like a chameleon on snow .Changing the outside to resemble your environment, while keeping your core intact.
Comment sent via Facebook
Abdiwahab in Egypt writes: Muslims shouldn't accept German values but respect them, you can't push away other people's norms and beliefs simply because they are immigrants.
Comment sent via host
On air now: Post your questions for Thilo Sarrazin here.