And this was his first day on the job.

BERLIN, March 4 (UPI) — Germany’s freshly appointed Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich has sparked controversy on the first day of his new job when talking about the role of Islam in German society.

Friedrich, who succeeds Thomas de Maiziere, now defense minister, at a news conference in Berlin said there was no proof in history “that Islam is part of Germany.”

De Maiziere and his predecessor Wolfgang Schaeuble had tried to launch a debate with Germany’s Muslim community to improve integration efforts.

Friedrich said he would take integration of Germany’s estimated 4 million Muslims “very seriously,” adding that he would continue the dialog with the Muslim community, the so-called Islam Conference.

His statements, which weren’t exactly tactful, were a repetition of his critique of a speech delivered by German President Christian Wulff, who said in October that Islam is a part of German society. Both politicians are members of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives.

On the first day of his new job, Friedrich was criticized for what the opposition and Muslim groups said were inflammatory remarks.

“Friedrich has only been interior minister for 24 hours and he starts by smashing the porcelain,” Deutsche Welle Online quoted Renate Kuenast, of the opposition Green Party, as saying.