"Islam also belongs to Germany," said German President Christian Wulff during Sunday's speech to mark the 20th anniversary of German reunification. The comments provoked massive outrage.
Conservative politicians are now warning against treating Islam the same as Christianity and Judaism. But parallel to the heated debate, democratic Islam is embedding itself in Germany: For the first time ever, imams are going to be trained at a German university. It is a development long fought for by many German politicians.
The signal sent out by Osnabrück could hardly be more important. The German state is creating partners in its dialogue with Islam: imams trained in state institutions.