Germany launches its training of "made in Germany" imams
About forty future Muslim leaders of the cult, men and women, began a two-year course offered by the College of Islam in Osnabrück, in western Germany, on June 14, 2021. AFP - INA FASSBENDER
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2 min
This is the ambition of the new College of Islam inaugurated this Tuesday in Germany: to train religious executives on site, in the language of the country and so that they know the reality of the society in which they will be called upon to work.
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With our correspondent in Berlin,
Pascal Thibaut
"
An Islam rooted in our society, sharing the values of our Constitution and respecting the ways of life in our country
".
Secretary of State Markus Kerber, who inaugurated the College of Islam in Osnabrück, summarized on Tuesday the objectives of the government which, together with the region of Lower Saxony, financially supports the new establishment.
About half of the imams officiating in some 2,500
mosques in the country
belong to the Turkish organization Ditib (Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs) which trains and pays them.
They sometimes do not speak the language and do not know the Germanic culture.
The College of Islam, supported by smaller organizations that represent a fifth of the country's mosques, wants to train
imams in German
, closer to the living conditions of a community of more than five million people.
The weight of Turkish organizations and their possible political influence in recent years have been criticized.
But these same organizations - Ditib or Mlli Görus - refused to support the College of Islam project.
For future imams the question of professional opportunities will therefore arise.
Will there be enough mosques that will agree to work with them?
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Germany
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