Excerpt:
The first online "tele-townhall" meeting between Chancellor Angela Merkel and some 7,000 of her party members took place on Wednesday evening, during which she asked Germany for more tolerance towards Muslims.
Merkel was clear about her thoughts towards the three million Muslims living in Germany. Islam, she said, "is a part of us."
In the wake of a turbulent year for the German Muslim community, Merkel urged her country against generalising, news magazine Der Spiegel said on Thursday.