66. According to the information received, on 1 January 2006, the Ministry of the Interior of Baden-Württemberg introduced a questionnaire directed principally at Muslims who want to obtain German citizenship. They are required to fill out a 30- question questionnaire concerning a number of issues, including attitudes towards equality between men and women, homosexuality and freedom of religion.

The questionnaire included questions such as: “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?”; “Imagine that your adult son comes to you and says he is homosexual and plans to live with another man. How do you react?”; “What do you think if a man in Germany is married to two women at the same time?” and “Were the perpetrators of the attacks of September 11 freedom fighters or terrorists?”

67. The Special Rapporteurs expressed their concern that an obligation imposed only on the citizens of the 57 member States of OIC could be discriminatory, especially considering the large Turkish community living in Germany. It was further reported that, under the new legislation, those who pass the test can have their citizenship revoked if they are found guilty of acting in conflict with their responses to the questions.

Link to full text of the report: Summary of cases-SR Racism-2007-eng