Between Xenophobia and Integration- The Life of a Turkish- German in Berlin

Zwischen Ausländerfeindlichkeit und Integration-
Das Deutschtürkische Leben in Berlin

(Between Xenophobia and Integration- The Life of a Turkish- German in Berlin)

Immigration Group
Anja Barnard
Rachel Schlechty
Mary-Grace White

1. Abstract:
In our studies in Berlin, we have chosen to pursue three different facets of the question of Deutschtürken—German Turks. This topic falls under the heading of Immigration. Anja will focus on government policy/laws and how they impact the community. Mary Grace will examine religious education in the public school system and what various religious organizations in Berlin think should be changed in response to the Islamic-Turkish influx. Rachel will research the impact that Turks are having on the German language and the impact it has on how people perceive the German language. All of us will form a cohesive observation of the life of a Turkish immigrant in Berlin in space and time.
2. Background:
a) Context: Why is it relevant? How will it advance yours and others
understanding of the issue? Remember to consider why it is of personal interest
to you.
Immigration is an issue that all countries struggle with, and all must grapple with forming policy around it. Some choose to integrate foreigners into society, others seek to promote xenophobic policy to keep foreigners out to begin with. Germany does not have the greatest record when it comes to religious tolerance, and we would like to examine whether they are using education to promote tolerance amongst different groups. We all became interested in this topic because it differed from our previous studies in Berlin. Large quantities of Turks were brought in by the East German government in the postwar era to work, they were not expected to stay. East Germany’s desire to maintain East Berlin as a productive and prosperous city led to the continued influx of foreign workers or Gastarbeiter. After the fall of the Berlin wall and the Iron Curtain, Germany was more concerned with reunification efforts among its own people to worry about assimilating those from another country and culture. Almost two decades after the fall of Communism the ‘Turkish Question’ comes to a head. Germany’s less than impressive track record with foreign peoples living among them no matter how long makes this an interesting and frankly decisive conflict that will quite possibly shape the future of immigration politics in the western world.
We have divided the question into three specific areas for each of us to research, based on what are some of the most fundamental bases/facets of German life: language, government, religion/education. Each is of particular interest to us. Anja is interested in researching the official policy of the German state vis a vis Turkish immigrants to Berlin. She will approach this subject through meetings with leading policymakers at the Bundestag from which she can better formulate an understanding of official discourse on the legal status of and government view of Turkish immigrants to Berlin. Then she will meet with community leaders and those active in social networks among Turks in the Kreuzberg area, where the largest of the Turkish immigrant population resides. Her research product then, is in essence a contrast between the words and deeds of policymakers and the ways in which those affected by said policies are responding to them and living under them.
Mary Grace will be focusing on the combined area of religion and education as she explores the ways in which various religions are taught in the public school system in Berlin. Through interviews with local religious leaders from among the Abrahamic faith and spokesmen, teachers, students, and their parents and with policymakers she will explore the different sides of the debate that has caught the world’s attention. With any luck, greater understanding of all sides of said debate will be achieved.

b) Problems: What are the struggles you have encountered while investigating your research?
Rachel’s topic is new and there has been little academic discourse on it so far. None of us speaks Turkish, so it will be harder for us to communicate with the older generations of Turkish immigrants. Time management is a key problem for all of us. We are all undertaking monumentally colossal endeavours with our research proposals. Luckily we have already a fairly advanced background in the history, language, and culture of Germany. Our broad topics have thus far allowed us to gather information indiscriminately at this early stage in the research process, narrowing down our monumental undertaking (albeit at this point somewhat unorganized) mountain of research will be made all the easier by the fact that we are acknowledging this problem in advance. We are all genuinely interested in our topics and have been voraciously devouring all the information we could even prior to our acceptance on the Berlin seminar. We are already in contact with professors, politicians, and religious leaders with whom we are arranging meetings during our stay in Berlin.
Of course we are encountering other problems within our own fields. Rachel is researching a dynamic linguistic change that is currently in progress, and will be at a disadvantage for the lack of previous study published on or conducted with this demographic. Mary Grace is having difficulty attracting the attention of leaders of religious groups in Berlin that because of media attention are already frequently besieged by requests for interviews and commentary regarding their faith. As far as we can tell perseverance and display of prior understanding of the religion and the education system, and perhaps some sort of bridging contacts are going to be the only way of establishing communications prior to landing in Berlin. Of course when dealing with non-Christian groups overcoming the ‘stupid white Christian American stereotype’ is probably going to be the most difficult challenge this trip will present.

3. Research Questions for Each Group Member: Topic and Specific Question
Anja Barnard: State policy on immigration is a dynamic area of study right now, as it is still adapting and unfolding in Europe as we speak. I am most interested in seeing how the debate turns out in the European Union, and Germany specifically, for Islamic peoples/Turkish immigrants and their rights as inhabitants of Germany and Berlin. I imagine that state policy differs vastly from the mainstream opinion thereof in the immigrant community and would like to have discourse with members of both demographics to develop and understanding of this conflict and how it is manifesting itself in the streets of Berlin. What is the relationship between official state policy on Deutschtürken (their rights, etc.) and the perception among this immigrant community on their place within Berlin/German society?
Mary-Grace White: Integration has been a highly debated problem in Europe, especially with regard to Islamic immigrants. The teaching of Islam in public schools has been a particularly poignant issue as it touches on the other issues of religion, promoting tolerance, equal opportunity, and education. What do the students, their parents and various religious organizations in Berlin think about the way in which religion is taught in the public schools of Berlin and what, if anything, do they think needs to be changed, particularly concerning Islamic education?
Rachel Schechty: The question that I will be attempting to address is twofold; what has been the overall linguistic effect of the mass migration of Turks to Berlin, with respect to Türkendeutsch, and how do both the Turkish and the Germans view this change?
This question relates to our larger group topic of immigration by addressing the varied perceptions and views of integration through one of its most pivotal components, language.

4. Research Methodologies: approx 1-2 pages, interviews, field research, observation, library research, expert opinion/interview, case studies, etc. Include interview questions in this section.
Anja will be meeting with members of the Left Party (Die Linke) and Turkish members of the Berlin regional Parliament to discuss official state policy, both at a local and national level, on immigration, with specific attention paid to the lives and rights of Turkish immigrants. She will also conduct field research in mosques, community centers, the Turkish market in Kreuzberg, and Turkish restaurants in the area. Additionally, she has planned a rigorous reading schedule for German Law Review journals, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Berliner Morgenpost, and naturally the New York Times to stay abreast of both current events and the state of legal/policy discourse on the matter prior to her arrival in Berlin. This will give her a better sense of the overall atmosphere amongst those who wield the decision-making power, and academics alike. She will also look for different ways to ascertain the feelings of the Turkish community on the ground such as through Turkish newspapers or perhaps blogs maintained by young Turks in the area. Prior to heading to Berlin my research here involves a correspondence with Political Science graduate students and professors researching Muslims in Europe, and heeding their advice for where to go with my research. Additionally I will be thoroughly researching the language and intricacies of the 2005 headscarf/integration legislation that was passed, before I embark, so that I may ask pertinent questions without offending my interviewees. Furthermore, I have been avidly perusing NYT pieces on Turkey, Deutschtürken, and Turkish-Kuridsh relations so that I have a background knowledge on which to build my research foundation.
Given the nature of my meetings with politicians and policymakers and the sensitive nature of the material we’ll be discussing, I will need to conduct more research in order to craft carefully-worded questions that will reap useful information without revealing my bias or upsetting my interviewees. The policies I am researching are HIGHLY controversial and unpopular among many, and I have to approach my interviews very diplomatically or I will not be privy to any information I am seeking. As I come to be more familiar with the legal and policy atmosphere of current debates I will post my questions, in their embryonic stages, on my blog in the lead up to our departure for Berlin.
To understand law and policy:
− Interviews at the Bundestag with Die Linke (The Left Party), SPD (Social Democratic Party)
− Interviews with Turkish politicians in the regional Parliament: Evrim Baba (Berlin HOR, PDS), Dilek Kolat (Berlin HOR, SPD), Özcan Mutlu (Berlin HOR, Grüne), Bilkay Öney (Berlin HOR, Grüne), Ülker Radziwill (Berlin HOR, SPD), Giyasettin Sayan (Berlin HOR, PDS)
− Familiarizing myself with the current debate through German law review articles
− Meetings with Humboldt Law Forum faculty to discuss their perspective on the issue
− Re-reading the German Constitution
− Reading Humboldt University’s (and FUB’s) Anti-discrimination policy
− Discourse with UW faculty and graduate students currently studying Islam in the EU
− Review of German Islam Conference held March 13th
− An understanding of the debate and policies between Erdogan (Turkey) and Merkel (Germany) concerning assimilation and integration (they have diametrically opposed views on the subject)

To understand the Turkish/Immigrant Perspective:
− Case study with a Turkish family
− Visiting the Turkish markets in Berlin
− Visiting Mosques in Kreuzberg
− Meetings with the head of the Islamic Community in Berlin- Islamic Society in Germany (IGD) and VIKZ (Association of Islamic Cultural Centers)
− Talking with shop owners at Dönerkebaps

Rachel: An essential part of my research will be developing an understanding of official European Union and German policy related to linguistic integration. The need to understand these laws and regulations is of the utmost importance because I will be asking people how these policies have affected them and what they think about them. If I wish to question people about the policies, I have to know what they are and be able to explain them if need be. I intent to acquire the needed knowledge for this aspect of the project before leaving for Berlin. This includes reading both the European Union policy on minority language and linguistic integrations, as well as reading published laws and articles produced within Germany.
In terms of determining the linguistic effects of the Turks in Berlin, I intend to undertake two courses of study. I hope to contact the department of linguistics at the Berlin universities and see if any faculty members are examining Türkendeutsch. There is also a professor at the Universität Hannover who I know is working on such a project, but I would prefer working with someone in Berlin, rather than communicating through e-mails or the phone. Through this contact, I hope to be referred to academic articles and other resources that detail the linguistic interaction taking place in Berlin. The second aspect of answering this question is observation. My observations will be done in two main ways: interviews, which I will explain later and direct observation. Direct observation for me will entail spending a significant amount of time in area of high migrant population including Kreuzberg and Prinzlauerberg. I have seen several academic and news articles about Türkendeutsch and I would like to experience it first hand. Because I have an advanced understanding of German, I hope to be able to both listen for anomalies in people’s speech and have some conversations with Turkish Berliners.
In terms of surveys, I plan to develop two surveys in order to discover the different perceptions of the linguistic change occurring in Berlin. Both surveys will be oral with an oral consent script explaining who I am, the goals of my project, and that no names are being recorded. One survey will be directed towards Turks addressing their use of multiple languages, their feelings on official policy and their opinion of German. I have begun to compile a list of possible questions for this survey in both English and German. (Please see attached.) The second survey will be used to obtain the German perspective on linguistic integration, focusing specifically on the changing qualities of German. As of now, I have been unable to develop questions for this survey, but I intend to have an outline of my intended interviews before leaving for Germany. In terms of gathering opinions on linguistic integration, the age of my subjects will differ tremendously in order to look for a pattern, but I do not intent to survey individuals under the age of 18. Based on what I’ve encountered so far, these surveys should reveal, that young people are the most willing to integrate. I intent to recruit my subjects mostly through social groups, community organizations, and face-to-face encounters at local hang out spots. I hope that visits to the Turkish markets and Marzahn will give me a good perspective on the possible groups of subjects that I could interview.
The final avenue I would like to pursue is doing a case study. I feel that having some sort of extended interaction with a multi-generation migrant family would provide our group with a better understanding of the impact of integration and immigration policies. Our group has found a few organizations in Berlin that may be able to facilitate a case study for us, both approaching individuals and explaining our project may be a daunting task. I hope to ask our German contact at Humbolt how to approach this task. Ideally we would be able to spend extensive amounts of time with one family so that they would feel comfortable openly expressing their feelings with us. This could include having dinner with the family, spending some time at their home, or any other activities they would feel comfortable with. I intend to ask our case study family, should we be successful in finding one, questions similar to those that I have created for my interviews and surveys.
Fragen für das Gespräch mit einem Türken
• Seit wann sind Sie in Deutschland?
• Welche Generation Migrant(in) sind Sie?
• Welche Generation Migrant(in) sind Sie?
• Wie fühlen Sie sich auf Deutsch?
• Ist es ihnen lieber, ihre Muttersprache zu benutzen oder Deutsch?
• Gibt es Situationen in denen Sie nur ihre Muttersprache betnutzen können oder wollen? Ist das auch so für Deutsch?
• Wie haben Sie Deutsch gelernt? War es schwierig? Haben Sie das gerne gemacht? Ist es ihnen wichtig, gut Deutsch zu können? Glauben Sie, dass andere Leute auch ihrer Meinung sind?
• Ist es Ihnen wichtig, dass ihre Kinder ihre Muttersprache lernen?
• Was denken Sie über die Sprachpolitik? Sollen die Schulen ihre Türkish lehren?

Possible Interview Questions
• How long have you lived in Germany?
• What generation immigrant are you?
• What languages do you speak?
• How do you feel speaking German?
• Do you prefer your native language or German?
• Are there situations in which you can only use your native language or situations that you only want to use your native language in? Is this true of German too?
• How did you learn German? Did you find it hard? Did you want to learn it or where you resistant? Do you think it’s important to know German? Do you think others agree with your opinion?
• Is it important to you that your children learn your native language?
• What do you think about the politic of language? Should Turkish and east European languages be supported in German schools?
Mary Grace:
Interviews with leaders/prominent figures/spokesmen of local religious groups.
Interviews with religious education teachers (if possible)
Interviews with students
Case studies with immigrant families
Interviews with policy drafters (if possible)
I have already sent out emails to various religious organizations in Berlin and have received answers from a couple of them.
Questions:
Due to the fact that we are still testing the waters for what is/not appropriate for interviewing religious teachers and students in Germany my questions are still in the formation process. I will pay attention to cultural sensitivity with regards to age and religious group and all of these questions will need to be formulated in German as well. However, there is information I know I want to obtain from each group such as their feelings towards the laws, how they interact underneath the laws, what they would change, what they view as popular sentiment, how they feel their religion fits in with the law, how they feel their position as a teacher/student/religious leader/parents is affected by the laws, and whether or not the laws should be changed. More research is necessary before developing a list of official questions and I will probably not have my final draft of questions until after I have spoken with some of my contacts in Berlin to test the waters; hopefully this can be accomplished over email but if not there will be some furious question-drafting during my first few days in Berlin.
5. Cultural Sensitivity: ethical research 1)discuss methods for recruiting interview subjects 2)measures taken to guarantee confidentiality and anonymity.
We have each individually taken cultural sensitivity into account in the above descriptions of our research. It is such a large part of our project that we felt it cannot be separated into its own section because it is in and of itself only important in its application. Given the topic we are researching and its highly personal and identity-political nature, we will be taking the utmost precautions to ensure privacy and continued respect of those who are gracious enough to help us, at all times and in all communications.

6. Daily Research Schedule while in Berlin. Tentative. You may have both group and individual schedules. Include people names/titles, places/addresses, equipment you’ll need and information you’ll gather.
-Turkish Market in Kreuzberg on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Go to Turkish restaurants in Kreuzberg area. Dönerkebaps, etc.
-Religious education classes
-Mosques in Kreuzberg
-Case Study with a Turkish family
-Anja’s professional meetings in the Bundestag, Berlin regional Parliament, and Islamische Gemeinden
-Meetings and interviews with HU (Humboldt) and FUB (Free University of Berlin) professors
For reasons relating to anonymity and cultural sensitivity we decline to provide names and addresses for our research partners and professional contacts in Berlin. We have provided names of the organizations and partners we will be in contact with during our stay in Berlin, and that suffices for the purposes of this proposal.

7. Your reference list at this point
Zöller, Verena. Liberty Dies by Inches: German Counter-Terrorism Measures and Human Rights. German Law Journal. 469-494. Volume 5. No. 5
Gill, Anthony and Pfaff, Steven. Will a Million Muslims March? Muslim Interest Organizations and Political Integration in Europe. University of Washington, Department of Political Science.

BBfM. (2003). Religiőse Vielfalt statt Zwangsemanzipation! Berlin: Beauftragte der
Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration (BBfM).
_______. (2005). Bericht der Beauftragten der Bundesregeriung für Migration, Flüchtlinge
und Integration über die Lage der Ausländerinnen und Ausländer in Deutschland.
Bonn: Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Migration, Flüchtlinge und Integration

BdI. (2003). Islamismus. Berlin: Bundesministerium des Innern (BdI).

BfMI. (2000). Bericht zur Integrations- und Ausländerpolitik in Berlin. Berlin: Beauftragte
für Migration und Integration des Senats von Berlin.

Bernstein, R. (2004, June 30). Lessons of Islam in German Classrooms. New York Times.

EKD. (2000). Zusammenleben mit Muslimen in Deutschland. Bonn: Rat der Evangelischen
Kirche in Deutschland (EKD).

Emmerich, M. (2005, January 21). Kopftuch, Kreuz und Kippa verboten. Berliner Zeitung.

Greve, M. & Çinar, T. (1998). Das Türkische Berlin. Berlin: Ausländerbeauftragte des
Senats.

Hartmann, T. & Krannich, M. (Eds). (2001). Muslime im säkularen Rechtsstaat.
Berlin: Das Arabische Buch.

http://www.islamische-foederation.de/

http://www.jg-berlin.org/site/01e_about/01_0start.htm

http://www.all-saints-berlin.de/index.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1526501,00.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1506557,00.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1171302,00.html

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3336570,00.html

“Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. ” Wikipedia. 2008. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 20 May 2008 .
"German courses for Turkish spouses. " Turkish Daily News [Ankara] 9 Feb. 2008, National ed.: 1. ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008
"German politicians criticize Turkish premier's call for Turkish schools. " BBC Monitoring European 12 February 2008 1. ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008 .
“Türkendeutsch.” Studipedia. 2008. 1 June 2008 .
Watzinger-Tharp, J. "Turkish-German Language: An Innovative Style of Communication and Its Implications for Citizenship and Identity." JOURNAL OF MUSLIM MINORITY AFFAIRS. 24 (2004): 285-294.
“Wie Jugendliche redden: Türkendeutsch als Szenesprache” RP Online. (2007): .
"Working hard in language courses to be eligible to reside in Germany. " Turkish Daily News [Ankara] 28 Apr. 2008, National ed.: ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008 http://www.proquest.com/>.
"Younger Turkish generation in Germany driving force for integration - poll. " BBC Monitoring European 13 February 2008 1. ProQuest Newsstand. ProQuest. University of Washington Libraries, Seattle WA. 20 May. 2008 .