Islam does not belong to Germany, said German new Interior Minister, Horst Seehofer on a collision course with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Seehofer criticizes Merkel’s open door policy toward refugees, The Daily Mail reported.

“No. Islam does not belong to Germany. Germany has been shaped by Christianity.The Muslims who live with us obviously belong to Germany, but false consideration for others clearly does not mean we give up our country-specific traditions and customs,” he said in an interview with Bild.

Back in 2015, Angela Merkel said that Islam “belongs to Germany”, pointing to comments made by former German president Christian Wulff, who said in 2010 that Islam was part of Germany. Around 1.1 million refugees have arrived in Germany after Angela Merkel’s statement.