Muslims 'must accept European values or leave Germany'

Muslim refugees heading to Europe must accept the European way of life or leave, otherwise there were "better places" for them to go, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a discussion panel in Berlin on Wednesday.

Migrants who do not like the European way of living must be told "you have made the wrong decision", Schaeuble, who has served in Angela Merkel's cabinets since 2009, said.

"There are better places in the world to live under Islamic law than Europe," he added.

Schaeuble's comments come as the latest in a string of German reproach against Muslims in the country.

Last month, a member of the executive committee of Merkel’s Christian Democrats [CDU] Jens Spahn called for an "Islam law" to regulate mosques in Germany.

Spahn also called for language tests for imams, adding it is important for preachers at mosques to deliver sermons in German.

Authorities in Germany must "know what happens in mosques," he said.

Anti-Muslim hate crimes have risen in Germany since the arrival of around 890,000 asylum seekers in 2015. This move, coupled with widely publicised cases of refugees being accused of rape and sexual assault led to a backlash last year from Germany's far-right, who capitalised on anti-migrant sentiment.

According to a recent poll by Chatham House, 55 percent of people polled in ten European countries said they were in favour of an end to all further migration from Muslim countries.

The poll of 10,000 people shed light on the widespread level of public anxiety over Muslim immigration with only 20 percent of people disagreeing with Muslim immigration bans.