SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: It's no secret that many immigrants have a hard time in Germany. A new study has found that women wearing headscarves have a particularly hard time on the job market and a quarter of those with Turkish backgrounds face discrimination when looking for work.
It is early afternoon at Internet Treffpunkt, a convenience store in Kreuzberg, a neighborhood in Berlin that is home to many Turks and other minorities. Hedi Dashti, the store's proprietor, is busy. One customer hands over her parcel to send through his DHL counter. Another customer buys cigarettes. The door swings open, ushering in the blustery winter wind, and a third customer waves hello.
Dashti -- an immigrant from Iraq who fled to Germany 20 years ago with his family -- speaks to customers in English, German and his mother tongue, Kurdish. He has adjusted to life in Germany and made German friends, while also maintaining his religious identity: Dashti is a practicing Muslim, abstains from eating pork and observes Friday prayers.
And despite occasionally feeling like an outsider, he really wishes he had German citizenship. ''We are not really Germans, but Germany is our country,'' Dashti said.
It is a dilemma shared by many of Germany's approximately four million Muslims. And a new survey supports the widespread feeling of dislocation that many of them feel. >>> Sheila Lalwani in Berlin | Tuesday, January 26, 2010
