April 30, 2007: Even the German government recognizes that Germany is on a path of "demographic decline" because of the country's low birth rate. The number of native Germans may drop as much as 50 percent before the end of the century. By contrast, the high birth rate among Germany's minority Islamic population will has profound implications for the country's future.

With the Muslim segment of Germany's population growing, it would seem to make good business sense to cater to this potential market. After all, some travel agents have special listings for gay and lesbian group travel, and no one seems concerned about that.

Some view growing Muslim influence differently, though. At a CDU [Christian Democratic Union] meeting last month in Wetzlar, German journalist Udo Ulfkotte explained how institutions are already making allowances for Muslims. He cited the banking community as one example, with a number of banks abandoning the traditional piggy bank as a token gift for new and younger customers. The reason? Muslims consider the pig to be an unclean animal, and banks don't want to offend potential customers or lose existing ones. Almost all German butchers sell pork, and according to Ulfkotte Muslim extremists have targeted some of these butcher shops. Muslims are known to have spit on sausages for sale at Germany's popular open-air markets. Another example cited involves two schools in Berlin that have installed separate entrances for non-Muslims (German Christians and Jews) and Muslims (Arabs and Turks).

The potential for Islamic influence in Germany was evident last month in a bizarre decision in a divorce case in Frankfurt. The wife of a Moroccan couple living in Germany filed for divorce after her husband had abused her physically. Because of the domestic violence she suffered, she requested an immediate decree of divorce instead of the mandatory one year waiting period required for normal divorce cases in Germany. The German judge rejected the request, arguing that the wife and her husband are both Muslims and the wife should have realized that the Koran allows a husband to chastise his wife.

The judge's decision caused a furor in political, legal and religious circles, including even the Muslim community in Germany. Christian Democratic Union [CDU] party secretary Ronald Pofalla declared in a statement made to a leading newspaper: "When the Koran is placed above Germany's Basic Law [constitution], then my only comment can be 'Good night, Germany!' " The wife's lawyer appealed the decision and requested that the judge be removed from the case for bias. The request was quickly granted, ending the embarassment to Germany's legal system.

According to Udo Ulfkotte, 40 percent of the 3.5 million Muslims living in Germany are convinced that the German constitution is incompatible with Islam. The outcome of the Frankfurt divorce case may only serve to confirm their opinion.