5 January 2006

BERLIN - Blunt questions posed to Muslims seeking German citizenship in a Christian Democratic-ruled federal state are fuelling anger and the threat of discrimination lawsuits from Islamic groups.

"Where do you stand on the statement that a wife should obey her husband and that he can hit her if she fails to do so?" is among 30 questions which can be asked by officials to Muslims seeking a German passport in southern Baden-Wuerttemberg state since January 1.

Only Muslims from the 57 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) are required to answer the questions as part of the process to become German citizens.

All other nationalities and religions are not subject to any of the sometimes deeply personal questions which include the following:

- "Imagine that your adult son comes to you and says he is homosexual and plans to live with another man. How do you react?"

- "Your daughter or sister comes homes and says she has been sexually molested. What do you do as father/mother/brother/sister?"

- "What do you think if a man in Germany is married to two women at the same time?"

Other questions include whether Muslim men are willing to be treated by female doctors in Germany; views on forced marriage; changing religion; and whether those who carried on the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington were "terrorists or freedom fighters."

Muslim groups in Germany have reacted with outrage to the questions which they say are blatant discrimination because only people of the Islamic faith are forced to give answers.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany say the practice violates Germany's constitution and several Islamic groups plan lawsuits aimed at halting the practice.

Ute Vogt, the opposition Social Democratic (SPD) leader in Baden-Wuerttemberg, slammed the practice as "full of cheap clichés and based on prejudice against Muslims."

Hans Georg Junginger, the SPD domestic policy spokesman in the state, took a more cynical view and noted most people posed the questions would be smart enough to know what answers they had to give to please officials.

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