Via NSS:

Germany’s biggest selling newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, has had to apologise for an editorial comment piece which has sparked debate and controversy in the country for its criticism of Islam, the Local has reported.

In his brief piece, the tabloid’s vice editor in chief, Nicolaus Fest, accused Islam of having a “murderous contempt for women and homosexuals”.

He said, “I don’t believe in God, but at the same time Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism don’t bother me. Only Islam bothers me more and more”.
Fest said he was “bothered” by the “considerably disproportionate criminality of youths from Muslim backgrounds”, by forced marriages and ‘honour killings’.

Mr Fest’s comment piece was widely shared on social media, and quickly drew harsh criticism from many – including politicians – who called it racist and demanded an apology to all German Muslims – of which there are an estimated 4.3 million in the country.

In response to the outcry, Bild’s editor-in-chief Kai Diekmann wrote an online editorial article rejecting Fest’s arguments for not having drawn a line between Islam as a religion and the political beliefs of Islamism.

He said, “For Bild and Axel Springer there has been a clear, unshakeable dividing line between Islam as a world religion and the degrading ideology of Islamism.