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OM · Joined: 20 Feb 2007 Posts: 37 Location: Melbourne

German Turks Caught in the Middle

A European Perspective

By Mohammad Shawky

Even though the word "German" literally translates into "Almanci" in Turkish, I could not help but notice during my stay in Istanbul the frequent use of the term "Alamanci" that has an added "a" between the second and third letters.

With time, I realized that the latter term is used exclusively to describe the so-called German Turks or Turkish Germans, in a way that reflects how the word is pronounced in the countryside of the eastern part of Turkey. This is the place where most of the "Alamanci" come from.

Surprisingly, this group of people was often mocked among young middle-class Turks, who usually claim that Turks in Germany do not reflect in any way the values and lifestyle of today's people of Turkey.

Having had the opportunity to share a room in the dormitory with many students from all over the world who participated in AIESEC's (Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales) exchange program, I used to spend hours with my roommates, during which we exchanged views about the Turkish culture and shared anecdotes and opinions on a daily basis. What caught my attention was the different expectations each of us had before coming to Turkey.

For example, in Egypt, people generally expect Turkey to have a relatively more open culture, which was not the expectation many of my European roommates had. Instead, they came to Istanbul with a lot of perceptions about Turkey, based on the behavior of the large Turkish communities in their countries, particularly in Germany.

Deeply Rooted Perceptions

These perceptions about Turks came from what my friends have seen or heard before coming to Istanbul. "Just open the newspapers in Germany, and you'll definitely find at least one article about a Turkish girl who was either killed or severely beaten because she met a German guy or lost her virginity or whatever," said Magdalena Wrobel, a 24-year-old German student who spent seven months in Istanbul.

"Because of that, a lot of German parents became afraid of the probability that their daughters might have Turkish boyfriends. They think that a Turkish boyfriend will beat his girlfriend, make her forcefully convert to Islam, keep her at home as a slave, or simply c

on her," she added.

Many Germans do not base their opinions about Turks, who tend to live in isolated communities, on actual contact with them. They form their opinions about Turks based on what they see or mostly hear.

Many other Germans depend solely on newspapers and the prevailing stereotypes about Turks. This gap is further deepened by the educational system in Germany, which separates Turkish children from their German counterparts at an early age.

As a result of this separation, many of today's young German Turks have failed to integrate into the German society. "When I was a little child, I used to play football with Turks, but our educational system separates students when they are 10 years old," explained Fridemann Koll, a 25-year-old German who went to Istanbul last year for an internship at Mercedes-Benz and stayed there for six months.

"Hardly any Turkish student goes to a grammar school, and most of them end up going to a secondary school, which, according to the German educational system, does not qualify them for university education," said Koll.

This does not seem to have changed much since Koll and other Germans of the same generation were in primary school. German-Dutch Martijn Vlaskamp, a 25-year-old student who was in Istanbul last summer, said, "The other day, I looked at the homepage of my old school, and in the first year, there was not one single Turk. There were a few Spanish, Greek, Polish, and Russian names, but not one child with a Turkish name."

Failed Integration

According to Koll, the main problem leading to the failed integration of Turks in the German society is that a lot of Turkish children still speak Turkish at home, which leads to a lot of problems at school. "On one hand, their parents can't help them with their homework, and, on the other hand, they don't get enough extra help from their schools, so they realize quite early on that they cannot keep up with the German students; therefore they stick together and give up," explained Koll.

Not only do Germans feel that Turks stick together in their small communities, but also many of them feel that they are judging the behavior of Germans according to their own standards. "Unfortunately, there are some Turks living in Germany who aren't noticing that the world is changing, that Turkey itself has changed, and that Islam has changed," said Wrobel.

"Some are still having the same understanding of their religion, culture, and way of living as it was 40 years ago in their small villages in the southeast of Turkey. That group is paying a lot of attention to the neighbors, like: What is the daughter of the neighbors doing? Is her hair covered? Does she have a boyfriend? Is she going to get married as a virgin? This is ridiculous, especially that the Turks I met in Istanbul do not think about these things anymore," added Wrobel.

German Turks vs. "Turkish Turks"

Wrobel continued, "I have never been in Turkey before I did my internship in Istanbul. It was a very important experience because I noticed that Turkish people in Germany are completely different from the Turks in Istanbul. The latter are modern and live their own lives, and they have views completely different from those of German Turks."

"Even strongly religious believers in Istanbul can talk to you about religion and accept your different opinion. Of course there are extreme Muslims everywhere in the world who claim to be fighting for Islam, but they are actually destroying its image in the whole world, but for me they are just sick people that I do not count as Muslims."

These words reflect the dilemma of Turkish Germans, who have failed to blend in the German culture and to break the cultural barriers separating them from the host society. Failing to keep up with the changes in Turkey, German Turks also became an odd group that — to some extent — does not fit into either culture.

Role of German Government

Many of my German friends think that the threat Turks represent in Germany is not a direct result of their great numbers, as many would think. It is rather a result of the failed integration, which arguably made thousands of young Turks end up uneducated and without a vision.

Some also blame the failed integration of Turks mostly on the policies of German governments across the years. "Even though it is the Turks' own fault to some extent, I'm convinced that the German government has to make major changes in the integration policy for Turks," said Koll.

Sandra Gruel, a 24-year-old German who did a five-month internship in the municipality of Beyo?lu in Istanbul, also agrees with Koll about the government's responsibility for the failed integration of Turks.

"I still believe that the missing integration of Turks in Germany is a homemade problem. How could any government expect that the Turks, after rebuilding Germany to become a rich and successful country, would go back to their poor places in Turkey? There should have been some programs or rules for foreigners who want to live in Germany. But the first steps in this direction came much too late," said Gruel.

Threat or Opportunity

Some Germans see an opportunity in the Turkish population, provided there are sincere efforts to integrate them into the European communities. "The German population will further decline in the future; therefore I think that the Turks can play an important role in the future," said Koll.

"I think it all starts with school. There isn't enough language support. I'm sure if they don't change that, the issue will become a threat," added Koll.

However, Vlaskamp, who now lives in the Netherlands, sees a problem with the large groups of Muslim immigrants in general, and stresses that he uses the word "Muslim" only because he could not find a better term that combines both Arab and Turkish immigrants in one word.

"The Netherlands, for instance, has a tradition of tolerance and free speech. These values came through a long process, which took centuries. But there are values that are essential to this country, like tolerance with homosexuals and minorities, or the right to say what you think. If somebody makes jokes on some prophet, it is probably distasteful, but everyone has the freedom to say whatsoever," said Vlaskamp.

Vlaskamp believes that many of these values contradict the values the Turkish and Arab immigrants bring from their home cultures, and this causes tension between these communities and the society at large, and it threatens the values of the host country.

During a visit to Amsterdam last year, I personally noticed a growing frustration among the Dutch population with the behavior of some young Arabs and Turks toward gay communities or public display of affection.

The Dutch in Amsterdam are also concerned about the increasing number of harassment incidents and anti-harassment campaigns in the city, which contradict one of the pillars of the Dutch culture, namely respect of "the other."

So, how can these immigrants demand that their beliefs be respected when they do not show this respect to the rest of the citizens in the host countries?
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Mohammad Shawky is a graduating senior in the American University in Cairo majoring in business administration, but he is passionate about education and learning, social development, performing arts, and creative writing. he can be reached at

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