ABSTRACT
Introduction Over the last decade, integration has become a leading policy objective in Germany(Bommes2007:3).Thisismanifestedinavarietyofintegrationmeasures taken both on the national as well as on the local level. Regarding the national level,intheyear2005,afterdecadesofneglectingthedefactosituationofbeing an immigration country, Germany has introduced an immigration law that also encompasses structures and strategies for integration. High-level policy events such as the National Integration Summit conducted annually since 2006, the German IslamConference (also conducted since2006) and the formulationof a National Integration Plan in 20071 indicate that the issue of integration is high on the agenda of national German politics and that faith and religion have been strong incentives to that end, especially due to the increase of Islamic extremism. On the municipal level, where integration challenges have always manifested themselves more directly, most cities have now formulated local integration or intercultural plans.
