Merkel rejects choosing refugees according to religion

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday that religious freedom is part of the European system of values and it prevents discrimination between refugees according to their beliefs.

This came after some European Union countries have indicated that they prefer to welcome Christians refugees rather than Muslims.

At a press conference in the Foreign Ministry with the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, Merkel reiterated that the EU has a humanitarian duty to refugees fleeing war in Syria and those running from the terrorist Islamic State in Iraq.

She added that the value system recognizes religious freedom and that means not discriminating between people of Christian or Muslim beliefs, by offering some of them protection and others not.

That principle, she added, should be reflected in the policy in all European countries.