SPIEGEL ONLINE INTERNATIONAL: When it comes to the integration of Germany's Muslim minority, the center-left Social Democrats tend to be much less hard-line than Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives. But on Wednesday evening, SPD chancellor candidate Peer Steinbrück may have gone a step too far when he waded into what in the past has been a hornet's nest of controversy in Germany. He expressed support for physical education classes in German schools to be divided by gender.
"If schools are able to do it, then they should," Steinbrück said in response to a question from the audience during a campaign appearance in Berlin. A Reuters reporter noted that the comment was greeted with silence. Steinbrück then added that the step should be taken "out of consideration for religious convictions."
Not surprisingly, critique from Merkel's Christian Democrats was immediate. Barbara John, formerly in charge of integration issues for the city-state of Berlin, told the newspaper Bild that the debate was antiquated and that "children and parents have to get used to the fact that genders here grow up together and live with the same rights."
She was seconded by Serkan Tören, a member of the federal parliament with the Free Democrats, Merkel's junior coalition partner. Tören, himself from Turkey, told the tabloid that "dividing boys and girls is akin to dividing society. Splitting classes by gender is also the wrong signal to send when it comes to integrating Muslims in Germany." » | Charles Hawley | Friday, April 05, 2013
