‘Islam Does Not Belong to Germany’
“Islam does not belong to Germany.” That’s according to German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer, in an article published by the newspaper Bild on March 16.
This is starting a bit of a row. German Chancellor Angela Merkel publicly contradicted Seehofer, saying that Islam does belong to Germany.
“Islam does not belong to Germany,” Seehofer said. “Germany is shaped by Christianity. That includes the Sunday rest, religious holidays and rituals such as Easter, Pentecost and Christmas. Of course, the Muslims living with us belong to Germany. But of course that does not mean that we give our country-specific traditions and customs up out of false consideration” (Trumpet translation throughout).
Seehofer’s message is a popular one.
Several surveys have been conducted about Germans’ opinions on Seehofer’s statement. Results vary, but a survey conducted by the firm Civey for Die Welt found that three quarters of Germans agree that “Islam does not belong to Germany.”
Germany indeed has a strong Christian heritage. About 60 percent of Germans are Christian. If you’re a member of one of Germany’s large churches, for the most part the government will take 9 percent of your income and give a majority of it to the church.
The migrant crisis is bringing a renewed focus on what it means to be German—what makes Germany, Germany. Seehofer’s comments are just one indication that Germans are increasingly turning to religion to answer these types of questions.
Our book The Holy Roman Empire in Prophecy (which we’d be happy to send you free of charge) goes through all of Europe’s history with religion and how Europe is prophesied to embrace religion once again. This book is full of concrete, historical examples of where Bible prophecy has been proved true, and it will help you understand modern Europe.
Another NATO Headquarters in Germany
A separate developing story from the last few weeks in Germany is that the nation is setting up yet another nato command center—this time a naval headquarters in Rostock. Germany will soon lead a multinational Baltic Maritime Component Command within nato. This is the only nato command center in the Baltic, so Germany will coordinate the nato Baltic fleet.
And at the same time, Poland is moving closer to Germany. The two countries are setting up a joint naval headquarters, also in Rostock.
This is another important trend we’re watching. Germany is taking the lead in setting up military cooperation in Europe, which is remarkable. Two thirds of the Dutch Army is under German command, as well as significant parts of the Romanian and Czech armies. nato is also working to set up a rapid-deployment headquarters in Germany.
Why is Germany taking the lead in all these things? It’s an important question, and it’s one Josué Michels and I answered in a recent Trumpet issue. Our article, titled “Europe’s Underground Army,” goes through many of the remarkable developments we’ve seen in Germany as it builds up a European army. The article reveals historical parallels and how these developments are prophesied. And Herbert W. Armstrong forecast this would happen all the way back in 1945. He did that because of Bible prophecy. This article shows you how this German military leadership was prophesied thousands of years ago.
