Germany's new interior minister has said he believes "Islam does not belong" to the country, in remarks that contrast with those of Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Horst Seehofer set out a range of immigration policies as he took up his role at the heart of the new coalition.
He has long been a vocal critic of Mrs Merkel's refugee policies.
His comments are seen as an effort to win back voters from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Mr Seehofer, who heads Mrs Merkel's Bavarian sister party the CSU, also vowed to increase deportations of rejected asylum-seekers.
More than one million migrants arrived in Germany after Mrs Merkel opened the doors to Syrian asylum seekers in 2015.
The backlash sparked by her policy helped fuel the country's far right in last year's election - the AfD entered the federal parliament for the first time - and led to the worst electoral performance in almost 70 years for her CDU party.
“It’s tempting to say all religions are bad, and I do say all religions are bad, but it’s a worse temptation to say all religions are equally bad because they’re not,” he added.
“If you look at the actual impact that different religions have on the world it’s quite apparent that at present the most evil religion in the world has to be Islam.
Horst Seehofer set out a range of immigration policies as he took up his role at the heart of the new coalition.
He has long been a vocal critic of Mrs Merkel's refugee policies.
His comments are seen as an effort to win back voters from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
Mr Seehofer, who heads Mrs Merkel's Bavarian sister party the CSU, also vowed to increase deportations of rejected asylum-seekers.
More than one million migrants arrived in Germany after Mrs Merkel opened the doors to Syrian asylum seekers in 2015.
The backlash sparked by her policy helped fuel the country's far right in last year's election - the AfD entered the federal parliament for the first time - and led to the worst electoral performance in almost 70 years for her CDU party.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-43422770