A Muslim politician chosen to become a minister in a German state says she wants to ban crucifixes
from classrooms, causing an uproar within her own conservative party.
Aygul Ozkan who will become social minister in Lower Saxony state told newsweekly Focus in an interview that "Christian symbols do not belong in state-run schools."
Her party, the Christian Democratic Union led by chancellor Angela Merkel, and the government immediately rejected that stance. Merkel’s spokesman Christoph Steegmans said the chancellor maintains crucifixes in classrooms are part of a Christian tradition.