Conservatives in Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition were in an uproar Saturday after one of her key allies floated the idea of a Muslim holiday in Germany.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said this week he was willing to discuss the possibility of introducing a Muslim holiday in parts of the country.
Germany is home to some 4.4 million Muslims, with many coming from the nation's large ethnic Turkish community. The over one million migrants that arrived in recent years also include many Muslims.
"Where there are many Muslims why shouldn't we consider a Muslim holiday," the interior minister said at a rally in Lower Saxony ahead of Sunday's regional election in the state.
The CSU, the Bavaria-based sister party of Merkel's Christian Democrats, strongly rejected the idea.
"Germany's Christian heritage is not negotiable," Alexander Dobrindt, a senior CSU politician, told the Bild newspaper.
"For us, the introduction of Muslim holidays is out of the question," he said. [AFP] Read more
