Almost 100 Attacks Against Christians Registered in Germany in 2017 - Report

The success of Germany’s multiculturalism policy has been questioned after statistics from the German Federal Police Office appear to show that a traditional Christian state is no longer a safe place for the believers.

The number of crimes targeting Christians in Germany reached nearly 100 cases last year, according to a report by the Federal Police Office. These stats have been gathered for the first time after a demand by the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and its head Thomas de Maizière after several notorious cases.

A homicide, grave and minor bodily injuries and arson are listed in the dossier. In a quarter of attacks churches and Christian symbols were hit and damaged. The murder case in the report is the one in Bavarian Prien am Chiemsee in April 2017, where a failed Afghan asylum seeker is said to have stabbed to death an Afghan Christian convert woman in front of her children. 

It is one of at least 14 crimes that were reportedly committed by refugees and those who seek asylum in Germany. The report incited a heated reaction among the country’s leading politicians from Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union. 

The Bavarian Minister of Internal Affairs Joachim Herrmann commenting on the news to the media pointed out that, “Integration in Germany means tolerance towards Christian homeland culture without any “buts”… if they want to live here, they must leave any anti-Christian beliefs behind. Otherwise, the immigrants are not welcome here. It is not goodwill but an imperative demand”. 

READ MORE: Explosion in Christian Church in Pakistan: 9 Reportedly Killed, 50 Injured

Ansgar Heveling, a member of Bundestag representing the CDU, welcomed the fact that such statistics have been collected and published. He told the media that he is alarmed by such numbers, and said that it’s important to protect the Christians and their organizations. 

Twitter users have come down on the immigration policy, led by the coalition government with the CDU itself.

Die Union ist alarmiert über Angriffe gegen Christen.
Die Politik der Union ist ein einziger Angriff gegen Christen.

— Europium (@Vaderium) 2 февраля 2018 г.

The Union is alarmed about the attacks against Christians. The Union’s policy is an anti-Christian-attack itself.

Some think the number of cases is inaccurate, with the real number being much higher. 

Mir scheint die Zahl sehr niedrig. Es gab so viele Übergriffe auf christliche Flüchtlinge in den Heimen, dass sie diese Zahl alleine decken kann.
Ich finde es nervig, wenn Angriffe auf #Christen immer herunter gespielt werden…

— Tony A. (@T_AfremBarsom) 2 февраля 2018 г.

It seems to me the number is too low. So many Christian refugees are attacked in the refugee residences – it’s much more than the published stats. It makes me feel nervous. 

Some find the data insufficient – the stats fail to include information about attacks against other groups. 

Wer hat diese Übergriffe begangen? Was genau ist ein Übergriff? Und zum Vergleich: Wie viele Übergriffe gab es auf Muslime oder Juden oder Atheisten? So nenne ich eure Nachricht nur Regierungspropaganda — einseitig, ohne Recherche und ohne Belege.

— Blixah (@Blixah) 2 февраля 2018 г.

Who has committed these crimes? What kind of crimes are they? And compare: how many attacks against the Muslims, Jews or Atheists are there. Without it I call the news governmental propaganda – one-sided, without context.