German Chancellor: Islamist terrorism not the fault of asylum-seekers

Reuters reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel said today that Germany has had problems with Islamist terrorism for many years. The arrival of refugees in the country is not related to its current problem with such extremists.

Merkel made the remarks during a campaign rally for her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party in the northern town of Neustrelitz. She also said Islam has a place in Germany as long as those professing the faith do so in accordance with the Constitution.

The Chancellor did, however, admit that efforts do exist to win over asylum-seekers to the Islamists' cause. "The phenomenon of Islamist terrorism and Islamic State is not one that arrived with the refugees, though," she said.

In Merkel's view, the so-called Islamic State has been causing Germany problems for many years, and this was apparent even prior to last year's migration crisis. Four bloody attacks were committed last month in Germany, two of which detectives say were motivated by Islamist terrorism.

In one case, a 17-year-old Afghan attacked five people on a train to Würzburg using an ax and a knife before police shot him dead. In another case, a rejected asylum-seeker detonated a backpack full of explosives in the Bavarian town of Ansbach, killing himself and injuring nine other people.

The Chancellor also said she rejects the anti-Muslim atmosphere that has gained strength in German society as a consequence of the migration crisis. She said the populist Alternative for Germany party has been abetting that change.

"We have clearly said that when Islam is experienced on the basis of the Constitution, then it has a place in Germany," Merkel said. There is no room in Germany, however, for forms of Islam that reject the Constitution and deny the equality of men and women, according to the Chancellor.