Inspired by the Protestant and Catholic traditions, a handful of universities in Germany are trying to help Muslim thought and teaching evolve, despite numerous challenges
Young Muslim women attend the inauguration of the Center of Islamic theology at the German University of Münster, in 2012. (Photo by ROLF VENNENBERND/AFP)
By Delphine Nerbollier | Germany
Programs in Islamic theology have begun cropping up in universities throughout Germany over the past decade.In fact, five institutes of higher education began offering such courses exactly ten years ago.
Today 11 universities — from Osnabrück to Frankfurt, Münster and Berlin — offer courses in Muslim thought and creed.”In ten years, we can say that Islamic theology has become established in Germany,” says Bülent Ucar.As director of the University of Osnabrück in Lower Saxony, he is one of the initiators of this project, which is supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and the authorities of the various regions involved.Two thousand five hundred students, two-thirds of whom are women, have taken these courses across the country.”We have our first graduates, our first doctoral students; we have about 50 professors and we train teachers of Islamic religion for public schools. This is part of…
Categories: Europe, Europe and Australia, European Union, Germany, Interfaith tolerance, Islam, Secularism