In the narrow sense, Lebanese people in Germany include migrants from Lebanon living in Germany and their descendants, excluding Palestinians. In the broader sense, it also include those Palestinians who immigrated from Lebanon to Germany and their descendants. According to this definition, you have three significant and large groups: Ethnic Lebanese, Mhallami and Libo-Palestinians. No concrete data exists on the religious affiliations, however it is commonly assumed that Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Lebanese and Palestinian population in Germany.
Ethnic Lebanese
People with ethnic Lebanese roots represent the largest group of Lebanese in Germany.
History
Although there has been sporadic migration from the Middle East to Germany since the 20th century, the real growth of the German Lebanese population began in 1975, with the start of the civil war in Lebanon which drove thousands of people away. Nevertheless most people immigrated in the 1980s and in the beginning of the 1990s to Germany as refugees. Especially in the late 1980s a large number fled to Germany. Notably in the second half of the 1990s and in the beginning of the 2000s, many Lebanese were naturalized.
Presence
Nowadays, people of Lebanese descent form one of the largest minorities in Germany. Most of them hold German and Lebanese citizenship. Berlin has the largest community of Lebanese and their descendants. Other big cities with a high percentage are Essen, Bremen and Hannover Region.
Mhallami
History
Mhallami are also called Mardalli, Lebanese Kurds or Kurdish Lebanese because their ancestors have lived in Mardin or other regions in Turkey as an Arab minority. Although with the authorities they were forced to have Turkish surnames, they kept their Arab surnames in everyday life and speak Arabic. Since the 1920s, many Mhallami immigrated from Turkey to Lebanon and lived there where they bore Arab surnames. Since Lebanon Civil War, especially in the 1980s, a large number of Mhallami from Lebanon immigrated to Europe. Most of them came to Germany without any citizenship. Nevertheless they were listed under "Person with unknown origin" and not "stateless persons".
Presence
Nowadays, the majority of Lebanese Kurds have German citizenship and see themselves as Lebanese or of Lebanese descent. The largest community is in Berlin. Other cities with many Mhallami are Essen and Bremen. In recent years they have become a frequent topic in German media because almost all Kurdish clans in Germany that are known to the police to be involved in organized crime are Mhallami families. Many clans have thousands of members. Nevertheless the majority of them are not involved in crime or similar things, only some parts of the family. Examples of large Lebanese-Kurdish clans are Al-/El-Zein, Omeirat, Miri, Remmo/Rammo, Saado, Semmo, Fakhro and Ali-Khan.
Palestinians
History
In the beginning of the 1970s and 1990s and especially during the Lebanon war many Palestinians fled to Germany as refugees from Lebanon. While most Lebanese immigrated during the last years of the war, the biggest immigration wave of Palestinians was earlier. A lot of them had lived in refugees camps in Lebanon for some years or longer before they moved on to Germany. Palestinian immigrants usually came to Germany as stateless persons without citizenship.
Presence
Libo-Palestinians mostly see themselves as Palestinans or of Palestinian descent/heritage and not as Lebanese or of Lebanese descent. Most German Palestinians live in Berlin by far where they form the largest community of Arabs besides Lebanese. Nevetherless there are also other cities with a high percentage like Bonn and Frankfurt.
Estimates
There is no official data how many Libo-Palestinians and also Palestinians in general live in Germany. In 2017, ca. 25,000 people were stateless in Germany and most of them were Palestinians. Nevertheless today, the majority is not stateless any more and have German citizenship. In 2010, the number of all Palestinians living in Germany is estimated at ca. 200,000 people.
