Personal Info
- Country of residence: Germany
Information
The German politician of Palestinian origin, Abdul Karim Ali Iraqi, is from a Palestinian family that migrated to Lebanon during the First Nakba. The family later moved to the Sabra, Shatila, and Tal al-Zaatar camps, and his family lived through the massacres committed against these two camps. He was born in Lebanon, then left for Czechoslovakia and from there to the Republic of Germany, where he studied educational sociology and worked in the field of sports, as a coach in the German Football Association.
In 2007, he became a member of the German Green Party, and in 2009 he was appointed vice-chairman of the party in the Nienburg region. He then ran for elections in 2011 and won the first round. He obtained a seat in the local advisory council, and also a seat in the city parliament. He was also appointed as a deputy. For the mayor, he will be the first Arab Palestinian Muslim in all of Germany to hold this position, as well as the first Palestinian to obtain a seat in the city’s parliament.
Ma'an's delegate to the city of Nienburg met with the German (Palestinian) parliamentarian and had the following conversation with him:
*How do you see yourself in German political society?
- When I came to Germany, I was a young man, but I grew up loving Palestine and how to work to serve the Palestinian cause. Therefore, I thought it would be better to belong to a German party through which I could serve my native country, so I joined the Green Party, which is one of the three strongest parties in Germany. On the practical side, I carry out my political duties as a German representative serving his voters, but the Palestinian issue has a special place in my heart.
*Let's talk about the social situation of the Palestinians in the region?
We thank God that the Palestinians in our region are in solidarity with each other, and there is cooperation between them and other Arab expatriates from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Jordan, and more importantly, there is a strong family bond, and as I said, we Palestinians here in our region set an example of cooperation, helping and loving others.
*And on the political level?
In fact, I am the only Palestinian who is politically active at the party and parliamentary levels, but all of this comes in particular thanks to the support of Palestinian and Arab youth for me, and German youth as well, even thanks to the votes of Turkish expatriates. I represent them in my region as well, and I care about them and we have a good relationship with them. Cooperation between us is supposed to be strong due to the strong Palestinian-Turkish relationship.
*Do you face problems as Muslim foreigners in German society?
- In fact, there are problems that began in Germany in general regarding Muslims since the events of September 11 in the United States, and the wave that began against Muslims since that period, but here in our region we have never felt them, as we are in a quiet area and not a large population area or The population of the region exceeds 100,000. In addition, we play an important role with regard to Islam, whether it is at the level of lectures or at the level of meetings, and we explain to the German citizen that the Islamic religion is a religion of love and a religion of tolerance and moderation, and Islam is innocent of every extremist and every terrorist.
*Are there laws in the region that prevent Muslim women from wearing the hijab?
- No, never. We enjoy complete freedom as Muslims, and there are no official or popular obstacles or harassment towards us as Muslims. We even have an Islamic cemetery, and there are many facilities for us as Muslims, as we have a forum in which the Arabic language is taught to all Arab expatriates and the Islamic religion is taught.
*Don’t you maintain contacts as a parliamentarian of Palestinian origin with the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah?
There are no direct contacts with Ramallah, but there was contact with the former Palestinian ambassador to Berlin, Salah Abdel Shafi, and it is logically assumed that the Palestinian leadership will cooperate with us, so that we can play our role in serving the Palestinian cause, and I personally contacted the embassy and informed them of my political status. Frankly, the Palestinian embassy in Berlin must adopt and sponsor every German politician of Palestinian origin.
*You are in your responsible party position in the Green Party. Are Palestinian events being addressed in party meetings?
- Yes, at the Green Party conference that was held in the German city of Kiel in 2012, the agenda included discussing the issue of recognizing Palestine in the United Nations, and I had campaigned within the party to support the project of voting in favor of recognizing Palestine, and I was the only Palestinian at the conference.
*Are you exposed to harassment from supporters of the Zionist movement while working for the Palestinian cause?
- No, we organize our activities officially and with the support of official bodies, as we organize demonstrations and events, and during the war on Gaza we organized a large demonstration, and some Zionists tried to verbally attack us, saying that the demonstrators should have a bomb thrown at them, so I went to a policeman and told him So, put an end to it.
*Do you have contact with the Arab League office in Berlin?
Unfortunately, the Arab League office in Berlin is not fulfilling the role it is supposed to do. I met the Arab League ambassador and told him of my activity as an Arab-Palestinian parliamentarian. As usual, he promised to communicate with me, but I did not hear anything from him, and that was a year ago. In fact, I work in my political field to serve my Palestinian cause, and this is my duty.
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