?
Stachus is one of Munich's nicest squares. It is rich in tradition and filled with pedestrians -- and perfect for Michael Stürzenberger's purposes. Hand balled into a fist, he paces back and forth and screams, "The Koran is the most dangerous book in the world." Because a couple dozen people have come to demonstrate against Stürzenberger, police officers in bullet-proof vests are watching over the area.
A decade ago, Stürzenberger, 49, was the spokesperson for the Munich office of the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union. But since 2012 he has been active in a splinter party called Die Freiheit ("The Freedom"), of which he was elected federal chairman three months ago. He preaches hate against Islam and compares the Koran to Hitler's "Mein Kampf." For two years now, he's been collecting signatures opposing the planned construction of an Islamic center in Munich. He has already held over one hundred anti-Islam rallies.
The Freiheit leader isn't alone. Several supporters, have joined him on Stachus, some carrying signs such as "No mosque on Stachus," or "Stop the enemies of democracy." Stürzenberger screams that Sharia instructs men to hit women. His voice cracks. "We don't want that in Bavaria!" A retiree asks where he can sign "against Islam."
For most Munich residents, Stürzenberger's verbal assaults are an embarrassment. CSU city councilwoman Marian Hoffman compares his incitements to the "droning speeches of the Nazis." The city government of Mayor Christian Ude, a member of the center-left Social Democrats, is worried about possible conflict during the upcoming local elections. Munich, he says, has become the focus of "experimentation" by radical anti-Islamists with the right-wing populists from Die Freiheit testing whether or not their attacks on the Muslim minority have majority appeal. If Stürzenberger gathers enough signatures for a citizens' initiative against the mosque, it would send a signal across Bavaria and beyond that Muslims are not welcome. » | SPIEGEL Staff | Wednesday, March 05, 2014
