Arabs running in Germany's parliamentary polls
Sentiments hostile to Muslims and refugees have been rising in Germany for some time now.
This happens as some groups incite
hate against Muslims and refugees, even as they have become part of the social
fabric in this European country.
The Alternative for Germany Party,
which represents the far right, used social media platforms in the past years
to spread hatred against Muslims and refugees.
This high wave of hostility
coincides with the parliamentary elections in Germany.
It aims primarily to intimidate
these groups of people and also express rejection of their presence in the
German society.
The elections are scheduled for September
26. The party winning parliamentary majority will form the next government in
Germany. The parliament will also select a successor to outgoing chancellor,
Angela Merkel.
Initial indicators show the
Socialist Party making progress in a number of states.
This comes as some initiatives are
being launched to educate German voters about the origins of Arab members of
the German society.
The same campaigns also ring the
alarm over the dangers of the presence of representatives of parties with
hostile agendas to those with non-German origins in the parliament.
The Socialist Party contains a large
number of members with Arab origins.
The party appointed some of these
members in high party positions in several states in the past period.
Nonetheless, the party endorsed Sana
Abdi, 34, in the parliamentary elections.
Abdi was born to a German father and
a Moroccan mother. She studied law Cologne in western Germany.
The German Left Party and the Greens
Party also nominated many Arabs within their lists.
They included the main participants
in the parliamentary bloc of the party, such as Amira Muhammad Ali. Ali, 41,
has Egyptian roots.
The Greens Party nominated writer
and a researcher in Islamic studies, Lamia Kaddour. Born in 1978, Kaddour has
Syrian origins.
