How this woman became Germany’s first Muslim Parliamentary President

When Muhterem Aras became the first Muslim house speaker of one of Germany’s federal parliaments in May, the time could not have been more sensitive. The country had just welcomed more than 1 million refugees in 2015 — many of them Muslims. For months, tensions had risen between supporters and opponents of refugees.

The person who helped facilitate the influx of refugees in the last months of 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel, has faced declining approval ratings and harsh criticism. Aras’s election, however, suggests that the skepticism toward refugees might not necessarily imply a general shift toward xenophobia.

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