German Chancellor Angela Merkel stands by her open-border policy, saying there is no link between the country’s refugee influx and the presence of Islamic State in Germany.
Germany was rocked by several attacks in July, including three carried out by migrants. A majority of Germans disapprove of Merkel’s immigration platform, but the chancellor sees no links between the recent attacks and her immigration platform.
“The phenomenon of Islamist terrorism, of IS, is not a phenomenon that came to us with the refugees,” Merkel said at a campaign rally Wednesday. “This group has worried us for several years.”
Merkel previously told Germans to not give into “hatred and fear” as a response to terror attacks. (RELATED: Merkel Doubles Down On Open Borders In Wake Of Migrant Terror)
“The terrorists want to make us lose sight of what is important to us, break down our cohesion and sense of community as well as inhibiting our way of life, our openness and our willingness to take in people who are in need,” Merkel said in July. “They see hatred and fear between religions.”
Several influential politicians from Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union have called for new integration legislation, including a ban on burkas. Merkel said Muslims who live by the constitution should feel like they belong in the country. (RELATED: German Conservatives Want Burqa Ban To Fight Terrorism)
“We have said clearly that an Islam that works and lives on the basis of the constitution … belongs to Germany,” Merkel said Wednesday.
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