De Tea and Politics

Oezkan does not want to be regarded as "a token immigrant"

Ayguel Oezkan, the designated social minister in Lower Saxony who is set to be Germany's first Muslim minister of Turkish origin, has caused controversy by calling for a ban on crucifixes in state schools.

Ayguel Oezkan has created waves before even taking office as social minister in the north-western German state of Lower Saxony.
The 38-year-old, who is a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said in an interview on Saturday that crucifixes have as little place in state schools as do headscarves.
"Christian symbols do not belong in state schools," Oezkan told  German magazine Focus, adding that "schools should be neutral places where children can decide their religious orientation on their own. Just as head scarves do not belong in classrooms."
Comments spark criticism from conservatives
Oezkan's comments have ruffled feathers in her own conservative party.

Image via Wikipedia

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift:  Wulff says the cross and the CDU are 'inseparable'
Lower Saxony state premier, Christian Wulff, distanced himself from the designated minister's remarks
"Christian symbols, above all the crucifix in schools, are welcomed by the state government in Lower Saxony in keeping with the practice of tolerant education on the basis of Christian values," Wulff told news agency dpa.
for integration, was openly critical.
"[Oezkan's remarks] are as absurd as they are appalling," Mueller said in a statement. "Politicians who want to ban the cross in state schools should think twice about whether representing a Christian party is the right choice. The crucifix is the foundation of our identity, culture, and values," he added.

At least, she hasn't asked for the ban on crucifixes while defending the veil.

That said I don't know what is the legislation on Germany regarding religious symbols in schools. But isn't it a little bit "curious" that someone who is Muslim is named minister by a Demochristian party as the CDU?