Each new year\u2019s morning, Berlin resembles a war zone. Without fail, the streets of the German capital \u2013 usually relatively tidy \u2013 are strewn with the remains of a citywide party the night before.<\/p>\n
Remainders of fireworks protrude from empty sparkling wine bottles, empty banger cases blow down streets where crows pick through overflowing bins and discarded fast-food cartons.<\/p>\n
As if the rubbish wasn\u2019t bad enough, it can take at least a week for city cleaners to tackle the mess.<\/p>\n
That gave Scharjil Khalid an idea. The young imam at an eastern Berlin mosque is part of a nationwide Muslim youth network and, all going well, at least 10,000 young people will turn out in 240 towns and cities early on January 1st. After prayers and breakfast, they will don gloves, grab brushes and fill bin bags.<\/p>\n
The initiative is not just about restoring Germans\u2019 beloved order, it is about shifting perceptions about Muslims. They make up around 7 per cent of the German population but, according to Khalid, \u201care only perceived as a problem group in this society\u201d.<\/p>\n
He was born in the western state of Hesse and is part of the first generation to study Islamic theology in Germany. Khalid and his helpers know that this year\u2019s clean-up comes at a time of growing tensions in Germany.<\/p>\n
More than two years after the October 7th attacks, they complain that official denunciation of growing anti-Semitism has not been matched by audible concern over a surge in anti-Muslim sentiment.<\/p>\n
[\u00a0Germany\u2019s Merz walks diplomatic tightrope with Netanyahu on first visit to IsraelOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n For two years a leading German media group has denounced all critics of Israel<\/a>, particularly Muslim groups, as \u201cJew haters\u201d. Even chancellor Friedrich Merz<\/a> has been accused of stirring up anti-Muslim sentiment for political gain last October with his claim of a visible problem in German \u201ccityscapes\u201d.<\/p>\n Many Muslims and non-white Germans saw that remark as a calculated dog-whistle to voters from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), whose platform includes deportation of nonethnic German citizens.<\/p>\n After weeks of protest, Merz said he was referring to failed asylum seekers, in particular those with criminal records, loitering in public places. \u201cPerhaps,\u201d he added, \u201cI should have said sooner what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than get angry with Merz, the young Muslims involved in the new year\u2019s clean-up group want to get even.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you see us as a problem in the cityscape, then watch as we clean up on New Year\u2019s Day, where the cityscape is at its worst,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Experts in the field say that the history of anti-Muslim feeling in Germany is as old as the first communities, dating from the 18th century. However, extreme acts of terrorism by Islamist extremists \u2013 from September 11th, 2001, to October 7th, 2023 \u2013 have triggered spikes in generalised anti-Muslim feeling.<\/p>\n Official German state statistics noted 1,848 Islamophobic crimes and misdemeanours in 2024 and 79 attacks on mosques \u2013 a 24 per cent rise in a year.<\/p>\n A separate study by the VBRG organisation, which documents far-right violence, noted 236 anti-Muslim attacks last year \u2013 up 50 per cent on 2023.<\/p>\n