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Germany's Interior Ministry has come under fire for serving pork sausage at a national Islam conference last week, despite pork being forbidden for practicing Muslims, Deutsche Welle reports.

The issue has stirred a heated debate — one that touches on the fault line issues of integration and respect for different religions — between critics of the ministry and right-wing groups who justified the decision to serve the dish.

The ministry has defended its decision to serve the sausage consisting of pig's blood, pork and bacon at the evening buffet on Wednesday. It said the serving reflected the "religious-pluralistic composition" of the event, which brought together Muslim associations and leaders with officials from the federal and local governments.

The ministry added that there was a wide range of food at the "clearly excellent" buffet, with vegetarian, meat, fish and halal dishes available. "If individuals were still offended for religious reasons, we regret this," it said.

Nonetheless, some have viewed the choice of blood sausage as a deliberate provocation by hardline Interior Minister Horst Seehofer.

In March, Seehofer caused a stir when he said in an interview that "Islam doesn't belong to Germany" and that "Germany has been shaped by Christianity," a comment he partially dialed back last week at the Islam conference.

Turkish-German journalist Tuncay Ozdamar, who first reported the "#BloodSausageGate" scandal, questioned on Twitter what message Seehofer had intended to send with the culinary decision.

"A little respect for Muslims who do not eat pork would be appropriate," wrote Ozdamar, who himself claims to eat pork.

In comments published on the website Watson.de, Ozdamar said he had no objection to offering pork in schools with Muslim children because Germany is a multi-cultural country.

"But if I convene an Islam conference and invite Muslims to engage in dialogue, solve the problems of religion that arise in everyday life, then I have to be a bit sensitive, tactful and respectful," he said.

Green Party politician Volker Beck also slammed the Interior Ministry, writing on Twitter that "appreciating diversity means also considering different habits."