Education advocates push for comprehensive Islamic instruction in public educational institutions
Germany Pursues Comprehensive Islamic Religious Education Amid Challenges
Germany is considering the implementation of nationwide, comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools, a move aimed at promoting integration, providing equal educational opportunities, and counteracting radicalization among Muslim youth. However, practical implementation faces several hurdles.
Currently, Islamic religious education is offered in some federal states, including North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Hesse, Saarland, and Lower Saxony, but with considerable variation in implementation across states. The Association for Education and Training (VBE) strongly advocates for a nationwide introduction of Islamic religious education programs, emphasizing the need for schools to be equipped with personnel and materials, and for programs to be expanded over time.
The German Teachers' Association supports this initiative, viewing state-certified Islamic religious education as a tool to counter extremist ideologies and support integration, especially through early language and cultural instruction that instills values like gender equality and freedoms guaranteed by Germany’s Basic Law.
However, political and structural challenges remain. The Turkish Community in Germany welcomes the initiative but highlights the lack of a nationwide Islamic cooperation partner needed to align educational standards across Germany, complicated by the federal system and constitutional limits. There are further concerns about which Islamic organizations should be involved; some warn against using groups like Ditib due to risks of fundamentalist influence and the need to ensure controlling extremist ideologies in an educational setting.
Critics like publicist Eren Güvercin have been warning for years that the structural dependence is not being eliminated despite assurances to the contrary. Islamic religious education is currently regulated differently in the federal states. The AfD fundamentally rejects Islamic religious education in public schools, and criticism has come repeatedly from the Bundestag, including from former Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir (Greens).
MPs Lamya Kaddor (Greens) and Sandra Bubendorfer-Licht (FDP) fundamentally questioned cooperation with DITIB after the Hamas attack on Israel. Other states rely on Islamic studies or no regular offers for Islamic religious education. Around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany, and the president of the German Teachers' Association, Stefan Düll, sees school religious education as a possible counterweight to extremist influences.
North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria already offer faith-oriented instruction, and teaching by teachers trained and certified in Germany could counteract attitudes conveyed through family influence or radical preachers on the internet, according to Düll. Some federal states continue to cooperate with Ditib, which is controlled by the Turkish state. Existing model projects should be evaluated, optimized, and quickly expanded, according to the VBE.
Özdemir warned of a targeted "Islamist interpretation of Islam" by certain associations. Despite these challenges, the initiative is seen as crucial for promoting integration, providing equal religious education opportunities, and counteracting radicalization among Muslim youth.
References: 1. Deutsche Welle 2. BBC News 3. The Local 4. Spiegel Online
- The Association for Education and Self-development, aligned with the German Teachers' Association, advocates for nationwide Islamic religious education as a means to counter extremist ideologies and support integration, incorporating general news topics such as politics and education.
- Amidst various challenges, including political and structural hurdles, and concerns regarding which Islamic organizations should be involved, the implementation of comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools remains a crucial topic in the general news and political discourse, as highlighted by MPs and various media outlets like Deutsche Welle, BBC News, The Local, and Spiegel Online.
