Alliance for Innovation and Justice

{{Infobox political party

| name = Alliance for Innovation and Justice

| logo = Buendnis fuer Innovation und Gerechtigkeit logo.svg

| colorcode = {{party color|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}

| abbreviation = BIG

| foundation = {{start date and age|2010|02|21|df=y}}{{cite web |title=Bündnis für Innovation & Gerechtigkeit BIG |url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/dam/jcr/d07ae6a2-7532-4254-9b62-2fed5980e93a/big.pdf |website=bundeswahlleiter.de |access-date=24 December 2021}}

| ideology = Muslim interests

| headquarters = Peter-Sander-Straße 15, 55252, Wiesbaden

| international =

| european = Free Palestine Party{{cite web|url=https://freepalestineparty.com/?page_id=314|title=Die deutsche Koalition|lang=de|access-date=14 April 2024|work=Free Palestine Party}}

| website = {{URL|https://www.bigpartei.de/}}

| country = Germany

| native_name = {{lang|de|Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit}}

| leader = Haluk Yildiz

| youth_wing =

| membership = 2000{{cite web |title=Bündnis für Innovation & Gerechtigkeit |url=https://www.bpb.de/politik/wahlen/wer-steht-zur-wahl/europawahl-2019/289268/big |website=Federal Agency for Civic Education |access-date=24 December 2021 |last1=Hülsdünker |first1=Timo }}

| membership_year =

| position =

| seats1_title = Bundestag

| seats1 = {{Composition bar|0|630}}

| seats2_title = State Parliaments

| seats2 =

| seats3_title = European Parliament

| seats3 = {{Composition bar|0|96}}

| colours = Orange

| flag =

}}

The Alliance for Innovation and Justice ({{langx|de|Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit}}; BIG) is a minor party in Germany aimed primarily at immigrants of Islamic origin.{{cite news |last1=Jacobsen |first1=Lenz |title=Wahlkampf für das Kopftuch |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/migrantenpartei-in-nrw-wahlkampf-fuer-das-kopftuch-a-692370.html |access-date=24 December 2021 |agency=Der Spiegel |publisher=spiegel.de |date=7 May 2010 |language=de}}{{cite news |last1=Herber |first1=Benedikt |title=Der eine bekämpfte den Islam, der andere lebt danach. Und jetzt machen sie zusammen Politik? |url=https://www.zeit.de/2021/27/haluk-yildiz-mathias-mund-frankfurt-stadtparlament |access-date=24 December 2021 |agency=Die Zeit |publisher=zeit.de |date=30 June 2021 |language=de}}{{cite news |title=Was läuft eigentlich in der BIG Partei? |url=https://dtj-online.de/was-laeuft-eigentlich-in-der-big-partei/ |access-date=24 December 2021 |publisher=Deutsch Türkisches Journal |date=22 December 2020 |language=de}} It was founded in the city of Cologne in 2010.{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2024 |title=Bündnis für Innovation & Gerechtigkeit BIG |url=https://www.bpb.de/themen/parteien/wer-steht-zur-wahl/europawahl-2024/548022/buendnis-fuer-innovation-gerechtigkeit/ |website=BPB}} BIG was founded predominantly by Muslims, but does not see itself as an Islamic party.{{Cite web |date=May 7, 2010 |title=Wahlkampf für das Kopftuch. |url=http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,692370,00.html |website=Spiegel Online}}

History

BIG was established in Cologne on March 2010 when three regional voters associations from Bonn, Cologne, and Gelsenkirchen merged. Later, BIG was merged with other muslim-interests political party, Alliance for Peace & Fairness (BFF), and started calling itself "BIG Bonn".

In 2013, the MDU took part in the annual anti-Israel Quds Day demonstration in Berlin with banners and leaflets. The chairman and spokesperson of the MDU, Bilal Uwe Wilbert, a member of the BIG board from 2014, was one of the main speakers at the Al-Quds demonstration in 2013 as well as in 2014 in Berlin.[http://www.juedische-allgemeine.de/article/view/id/16684 Berlin: Hetze gegen Israel - Rund 800 Teilnehmer protestierten auf der "Al-Quds"-Demo] by Jan Tölva, Jüdische Allgemeine, 4. August 2013.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35dixrO9EoE Qudstag 2013 - 6 - Speech by Bilal Uwe Wilbert (Muslim Democratic Union, MDU)][https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6yJh-mH8Mg Qudstag 2014 Berlin - Speech by Bilal Uwe Wilbert (BIG Party)]

On March 2014, the Muslim Democratic Union (MDU), Islamist political party that was founded in Osnabrück in 2010 and was mainly active in Lower Saxony joined BIG.{{Cite web |title=Muslimische Demokratische Union (MDU) |url=http://www.eslam.de/begriffe/m/muslimisch_demokratische_union.htm |access-date=November 6, 2023}}{{Cite web |title=Unter dem Deckmantel der Demokratie: Verfassungsschutz warnt vor muslimischer Partei |date=16 April 2014 |url=https://www.nwzonline.de/delmenhorst/muslimische-partei-will-das-zinssystem-abschaffen_a_14,7,75807861.html |access-date=November 6, 2023}} Since its founding, BIG has only been able to win a small amount of seats at local level.{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2024 |title=Die Partei Bündnis für Innovation & Gerechtigkeit |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/europawahl/parteien_und_programme/buendnis-innovation-gerechtigkeit-100.html |website=Tagesschau}}

Ideology

According to its own statements, BIG wants to campaign for the interests of migrants and wants to change society in Germany by "achieving social justice through multicultural, diverse and innovative solutions".{{Cite web |title=Profil |url=https://bigpartei.de/profil/}} In its 2024 European election manifesto, it supports open migration and refugee policies, it demands that language classes for migrants be made mandatory in order to promote their participation in German society. BIG also demands that asylum procedures be accelerated.{{Cite web |title=Das Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit |url=https://nrw-lokal.de/unternehmen-presse/das-buendnis-fuer-innovation-und-gerechtigkeit/ |website=NRW-LOKAL|date=24 November 2023 }}

Controversy

BIG is considered by some sources to be a German offshoot of the right-wing Turkish Justice and Development Party. The party leadership, however, claims its independence from AK.{{Cite web |date=September 17, 2022 |title=Wir sind völlig unabhängig von der AKP |url=http://andere-parteien.de/2012/09/16/17-09-2012/}} After investigation by law enforcement, no evidence could be found that the founders or members of the party were affiliated Turkish government.

Election Results

=Federal Parliament (''Bundestag'')=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"
rowspan=2\| Election ! colspan=2\| Constituency ! colspan=2\| Party list ! rowspan=2\| Seats ! rowspan=2\| +/– ! rowspan=2\| Status
Votes ! % ! Votes ! %
2017 \| 2,680 \| 0.01 (#23) \| 17,743 \| 0.04 (#22) \| {{Composition bar\|0\|709\|{{party color\|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}}} \| New \| {{no\|Extra-parliamentary}}

class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:right;"

rowspan=2| Election

! colspan=2| Constituency

! colspan=2| Party list

! rowspan=2| Seats

! rowspan=2| +/–

! rowspan=2| Status

Votes

! %

! Votes

! %

2017

| 2,680

| 0.01 (#23)

| 17,743

| 0.04 (#22)

| {{Composition bar|0|709|{{party color|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}}}

| New

| {{no|Extra-parliamentary}}

=European Parliament=

class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:center;"
Election ! Votes ! % ! Seats ! +/– ! EP Group
2019 \| 68,647 \| 0.18 (#23) \| {{Composition bar\|0\|96\|{{party color\|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}}} \| New \| –
2024 \| 31,141 \| 0.08 (#29) \| {{Composition bar\|0\|96\|{{party color\|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}}} \| {{steady}} 0 \| Free Palestine Party

class="wikitable" style="font-size:97%; text-align:center;"

Election

! Votes

! %

! Seats

! +/–

! EP Group

2019

| 68,647

| 0.18 (#23)

| {{Composition bar|0|96|{{party color|Alliance for Innovation and Justice}}}}

| New