BERLIN (AP) – A German nationalist party called Monday for tighter security measures aimed primarily at immigrants, while again insisting that Islam is incompatible with democracy as Germany’s election campaign entered its final stretch.
Alternative for Germany co-leader Alexander Gauland told reporters that “Islam is also a political doctrine” and as such “is incompatible with a free democratic order.”
“In this respect, it is not a part of Germany,” he said.
Alternative for Germany, known by its German acronym AfD, is on track to enter parliament for the first time in Sunday’s national election with about 10-percent support in recent polls. Gauland says it wants to prevent the “Islamization of Germany.”
Among other proposals, he said AfD wants a ban on minarets and public calls to prayer from mosques, a ban on headscarves for teachers and students, and for imams to lead prayers only in German.