Ah, the exquisite art of cultural self-erasure, executed with German precision. In parts of Germany, music lessons are being quietly dropped—not for lack of funds or teachers, but to avoid offending Muslim sensibilities that deem music a grave sin. Beethoven and Bach must yield to higher priorities. One marvels at the efficiency: a nation once famed for exporting symphonies now tiptoes through its classrooms, lest a violin note prove provocative. Integration has been redefined with flair—the host culture simply falls silent. Of course, officials will cloak it in the usual velvet of “inclusion” and “respect.” Yet when a society edits out its own heritage to accommodate imported sensitivities, accommodation becomes erasure. Removing music is not tolerance. It is the polite, well-mannered abdication of cultural confidence.
