Just steps away from where a concrete wall once divided the city into east and west, a group of 1st grade Muslim students at E.O. Plauen Elementary School are singing a phrase in Arabic that is unfamiliar to most Germans. They sing "Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah," which means "Praise to God," as light snow falls outside the century-old building in Kreuzberg, a neighborhood in Berlin often referred to as Little Istanbul due to its high concentration of Turkish immigrants. Led by teacher Yasar Özcelik, the 16 students switch to German as the song continues, singing "For the eyes, God be thanked" and "For the ears, God be thanked."
While the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches have been offering voluntary religion classes in Berlin schools for a long time, it is only recently that the courts have allowed an Islamic organization to do the same. However, many Germans remain suspicious of this Muslim group that fought a legal battle for 20 years to provide these classes. The Islamic Federation of Berlin is seen by many as promoting a radical form of Islam that discourages integration into German society and should not be shaping young minds.
This distrust of the Islamic Federation of Berlin is indicative of a larger problem in both society and schools. Although the physical wall may have crumbled, there seems to be a growing divide in Germany. Concerns are rising about the integration of immigrant families, particularly the Muslim population, which is the second largest in the country with over 3 million Muslims. The presence of enclaves in cities like Berlin and Amsterdam, where the native language is barely spoken and Western values are sometimes sidelined, has alarmed many Europeans. Tensions have been further inflamed by terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim extremists, such as the September 11 attacks in the United States and the 2004 train bombings in Madrid. The recent "honor killing" of a 23-year-old Turkish woman in Berlin, the sixth such crime in six months, has also contributed to the anxiety. Barbara John, Berlin’s former commissioner for integration and migration, acknowledges the prejudice building up towards Muslims, with the perception being that they cannot integrate and be democratic at the same time.
This sense of anxiety is evident in schools as well. Some German states have recently passed laws banning teachers from wearing headscarves in the classroom. Educators are concerned that more Muslim families are preventing their daughters from participating in school activities such as field trips. Additionally, many children from immigrant families have poor or limited German language skills, despite being born in the country. Moreover, international test scores suggest that Germany, once praised for its academic excellence, is failing to provide immigrant students with the necessary support, leaving them significantly behind their peers. Efforts are being made to address these issues, but experts believe that Germany still has a long way to go in meeting the needs of immigrant students.
Although Germany has a long history of immigration, it is only recently that the country has started to acknowledge itself as an immigrant nation. The country experienced significant demographic changes in the 1960s and 1970s when it invited guest workers from Turkey, Greece, Yugoslavia, and other countries to support its economic expansion. However, little effort was made to integrate these workers into society, as both the Germans and the laborers viewed the arrangement as temporary. Eventually, many of the workers stayed in Germany and brought their families with them. Germany has also been a popular destination for asylum seekers.
Perceiving Islam as ‘Unconventional’
Since the Wall was demolished, Kreuzberg has become a central part of the reunited Berlin, a vast city with an intricate subway system, a vibrant nightlife, and thriving arts scene, as well as a variety of architectural styles—ranging from Baroque to neo-Renaissance buildings, to the imposing Stalinist structures on Karl Marx Allee, to the sleek glass-and-steel Sony Center. As Europe’s second-largest city, Berlin is a diverse and multicultural capital, with a population of around 3.4 million. It is a city of extremes, not unlike New York City in representing the diversity of the United States.
Berlin prides itself on its social progressiveness and reputation for tolerance, having one of the few openly gay mayors in Europe. However, nonwhite individuals often feel unsafe in certain neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city due to the threat of attacks by skinheads.
Kreuzberg showcases one aspect of Berlin’s multifaceted nature. In this area, filled with kebab shops and other Turkish stores, wearing a headscarf garners no more attention than having a ponytail.
In the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district, German is a second language for approximately half of all students. Across Berlin as a whole, the figure is one in four. More than half of these students are from Turkish backgrounds, with other countries of origin including Lebanon, the former Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, and Vietnam.
An Introduction to German Education
Education in Germany is primarily the responsibility of the country’s 16 states, known as Länder, which means that education policy and organization may vary. Generally, children can attend preschool, referred to as kindergarten, from the ages of 3 to 6. Primary education typically spans from ages 6 to 10, but in Berlin and Brandenburg, it extends until the age of 12. Full-time education is generally compulsory from ages 6 to 15 or 16, followed by a few more years of compulsory part-time education.
After completing elementary school, students usually attend one of four types of schools based on the recommendation of their primary schools, although parents have the final say in most states. These options are as follows:
1. Hauptschule: This track provides a basic education and prepares students for vocational training.
2. Realschule: The intermediate track offers a more comprehensive basic education and typically prepares students for higher technical or business schools.
3. Gymnasium: The highest and most demanding track that leads to a degree called an Abitur and prepares students for university.
4. Gesamtschule: A comprehensive school that offers all three tracks under one roof.
At E.O. Plauen Elementary, 90 percent of the 370 students come from non-German backgrounds, with Turkish being the most prominent. The majority of these students were born in Berlin. When asked about the German language ability of a Turkish 7-year-old student, Cleo Diehm, a seasoned 1st grade teacher, responds, "For his age, it’s not great. However, considering that he is here, his level is normal to good." Many children prefer to speak Turkish and often do so on the playground, but Diehm does not allow it in class unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as assisting a student with a challenging assignment.
This morning, a blond Russian boy named Edgar has a special request. Diehm shares, "He told me he wants to learn Turkish. I think it’s so he can communicate with the Turkish kids… He wants to write down five vocabulary words each day." Özcelik, a native of Turkey, also helps the 1st graders learn German in his Islam classes. He states, "In my personal opinion, when you live in Germany, you have to learn German."
At E.O. Plauen, any disputes are likely to arise from within the Muslim families themselves. Gerlinde Hohnhäuser, the principal, explains, "The religion teacher here is relatively progressive compared to other Turkish religious teachers, and this has caused some conflicts with parents."
The issues with immigrant education in Germany tend to be passed down through generations. While there are certainly many well-educated and integrated immigrant families, there are also a significant number of children whose parents are unemployed, poorly educated, and have limited knowledge of the German language. Dietmar Pagel, the principal of Hector Peterson Oberschule, a comprehensive school for students in grades 7-10, describes Kreuzberg as a "ghetto for Turkish kids," where it is possible for a child to navigate the area without speaking a word of German. Pagel explains that often, a student’s father may have been living in Germany for a long time but will marry a woman from rural Turkey who does not speak German or understand the country’s customs. This creates a cycle of problems that keeps repeating itself. Pagel shares an anecdote about a Lebanese woman who came to enroll her child at Hector Peterson. When asked to sign a document, she was only able to make two crosses.
In an effort to address these issues, Berlin provides language classes to approximately 6,200 immigrant mothers in elementary schools. The city has also implemented a pilot program that combines language instruction for parents with information about the school system. Ulrike Grassau, who oversees immigrant programs in the Berlin education ministry, explains, "They don’t know German schools, how the system works, what teachers expect from parents."
Germany experienced a collective shock in 2001 after its poor performance on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The country ranked 25th out of 32 countries for the overall performance of its 15-year-olds. Although there have been slight improvements in recent years, Germany’s immigrant and low-income children continue to struggle academically. This publicity surrounding the poor performance has prompted action from the government. All 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany have agreed on national education standards, a significant achievement considering that each state usually has control over education policies. However, some experts argue that these standards are too vague to have a significant impact in the classroom.
The PISA study also led to the implementation of new federal programs, including a 4-billion-euro ($5.1 billion) plan to extend the school day over a period of five years. Currently, most schools in Germany operate on half-day schedules. Additionally, the federal government launched a five-year pilot program in collaboration with five states, including Berlin, to provide better language acquisition support to immigrant children.
While school improvement primarily falls within the jurisdiction of each individual state, Berlin has made recent changes. For example, the city plans to make education compulsory at age 5½ instead of 6 and is granting schools more autonomy. Berlin has also initiated language tests for incoming elementary school students. If a student falls short, they attend language classes for several months prior to the start of the school year. Similarly, the state of Hesse, which has a large immigrant population in Frankfurt, has been administering language tests since 2002. Families must enroll their children in school almost a year in advance, and if a child has limited knowledge of German, the state provides them with language classes for nine months.
Some educators express concern about the approach taken by Hesse’s government, particularly under the Christian Democrats. Harald Freiling, a teacher, shares his frustration with a poster he saw in the education ministry headquarters stating, "If you don’t speak German, you don’t get to attend the 1st grade." Freiling argues that a more welcoming approach would be better, with a poster stating, "You have difficulties speaking German? Please come to our school, and we are happy to help you."
Muslim women are seen shopping in the open-air market in the Kreuzberg area of Berlin, which is commonly referred to as Little Istanbul due to its large population of Turkish immigrants. One woman comments that Germany does not have a tradition of this kind of market.
Observers argue that immigrant children’s academic performance is negatively affected because teacher-training programs in Germany do not adequately prepare teachers to instruct them, with a few exceptions. Furthermore, immigrant children tend to struggle in Germany’s hierarchical secondary school system, which divides students into three types of schools at a young age, with only one of them focused on college preparation. Educators and researchers believe that immigrant children are disproportionately placed in lower-track schools compared to ethnic Germans.
Özcan, a Green Party legislator in the Berlin parliament who was born in Turkey, questions whether Turkish children are less intelligent. He states that it is not the case, but rather that the school system discriminates against them.
The headscarf has been a major source of tension, with European officials increasingly viewing it as a symbol of separatist Islam. France has banned headscarves and other religious symbols in schools, and several German states have prohibited teachers from wearing headscarves. These bans are supported by conservatives and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who leads the center-left government. Some leftist Greens also support the bans. They argue that teachers representing the state must remain neutral. Mutlu, a member of the Green Party, supported a ban passed in Berlin, stating that Turkey, a secular Muslim state, also prohibits headscarves in schools. He adds that Berlin’s law also restricts teachers of other faiths from wearing symbols of their religion, such as large crucifixes or Jewish yarmulkes. However, a group of 10th-grade students at Hector Peterson, consisting of both Muslims and ethnic Germans, disagree with the ban and believe it is misguided.
A student named Jalileh Othman shares her experience of facing difficulties finding work while wearing a headscarf. She believes that people judge her based on her appearance and argues that those who wear headscarves are just normal individuals.
The principal of Hector Peterson, Pagel, prefers to keep religion separate from the school. He expresses concerns about cultural differences with Muslim immigrants and whether they hinder integration. While he wants to promote tolerance, incidents like honor killings make him hesitant. Gökalp Özalp, a social worker from Turkey who has lived in Berlin for twenty years, condemns honor killings but is worried that the recent focus on the issue may lead to a backlash against Turkish immigrants. He emphasizes that Berlin is home to many modern and open-minded Turks. However, Özalp, who is not religious himself, acknowledges a rise in fundamentalism among some jobless Turks who feel unwelcome in the country.
However, when Barbara John, the prior integration commissioner, is confronted with narratives of this nature, she discerns a flicker of optimism. "Patience is essential, as is the ability to persuade," she states. "We approach all situations as binary choices, emphasizing the importance of trust-building."
