Al-Salam Mosque in Germany spreads the Arabic language and Islamic culture among the children of immigrants

Pforzheim – Perhaps the most important concern for Arab immigrants in Germany is how to preserve the Arabic language in their children and strengthen their attachment to their religion and Islamic customs and traditions. This role falls on the shoulders of mosques and Islamic associations, after the family.

In the city of Pforzheim, northwest of Baden-Württemberg, there is a successful experiment despite the lack of resources: the Peace Mosque, which for 18 years has been teaching Arabic to the children of immigrants, the jurisprudence classes that are dedicated to it every Saturday evening, as well as the organization of gatherings for Muslims on holidays.

Al-Salam Mosque is a branch of the United Arab German Association (Reuters)

United Arab German Islamic Society

Al-Salam Mosque is a branch of the United Arab-German Association, as mosques in Germany are not licensed as independent mosques, but rather cultural and social associations are licensed to build them and build cultural and educational centers.

The chairman of the board of directors of the association, Ghassan Humaysi, told Al Jazeera Net, "There was no Arab mosque in Pforzheim, the mosques were for the Turkish brothers. In 2005, we met a group of young Arabs of different nationalities, decided to establish an Arab mosque, and founded the United Arab German Islamic Association."

"Through the own efforts of Muslim brothers of Arab nationalities, the mosque, a ground apartment in the Brutzingen region, was purchased, and one of the benefactors donated an amount to complete the purchase," he added.

From Quran memorization workshops in Al-Salam Mosque in Germany (Al-Jazeera)

Since the first day of the establishment of the Al-Salam Mosque, it was the concern of those in charge of it to be a religious, social and cultural center, to contribute to solving the problems of Muslims here, and to promote the Arabic language among the children of immigrants.

Humaisi pointed out that the number of worshippers in the mosque at the beginning did not exceed 20, and it increased year after year, until the influx of refugees from Syria and other countries.

The mosque began to become crowded with worshippers, prompting those in charge of it to look for another wider space to establish an independent school to teach the Quran and Arabic to children, according to the same spokesman.

From left: Ahmed Salloum, Sheikh Fathi Saad and Ghassan Humaissi, co-founders of the United German Arab Islamic Association (Al Jazeera)

The advocacy activity of Al-Salam Mosque

Sheikh Fathi Saad, the mosque's preacher and supervisor of its Arab school, said, "The origin of mosques in Europe is that they are an inclusive educational institution that serves the Muslim community living in the city, helps them strengthen their religious identity by holding devotional rites, and urges them to integrate positively into society without melting."

Saad explains, in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, that Al-Salam Mosque is one of these mosques that seek to play this role, and its activities are summarized in:

• Holding Friday prayers in Arabic and German.
• The weekly mosque lesson is on Saturdays, weekends in Germany, and the topic of the lesson varies between the jurisprudence of worship, the biography of the Prophet, raising children, the place of the family in Islam, and discussing the suspicions raised about Islam, refuting and responding to them.
• Various lessons during the week to read the Qur'an and learn the rulings of recitation, to link the Muslim to the book of his Lord recitation and management.
• The Arabic school in the mosque teaches Arabic and memorizes what is available from the Holy Quran.
• Various women's activities, between religious and periodic lessons for girls, interspersed with the introduction of Islam.

A German family declared Islam after last Friday prayers at Al-Salam Mosque on the first Friday of Ramadan (Al-Jazeera)

Introducing Islam

The mosque offers religious lessons interspersed with the introduction of Islam, accompanied by the conviction of some of them in Islam and the request to enter it, as happened on the first Friday of Ramadan when a German family announced their conversion to the true religion after Friday prayers.

Karim Belhaj Ali: The mosque has several social and religious activities (Al Jazeera)

Multiple social activities

Karim Belhaj Ali, social activities officer at the mosque, said that when Syrian refugees came to Germany, some of them came to the city of Pforzheim, and many of these families feared that their children would lose the Arabic language. This encouraged the mosque administration to allocate a hall for teaching Arabic to children, in addition to the jurisprudence lessons offered by Sheikh Fathi, the imam and preacher of the mosque.

He says to Al Jazeera Net, "A difficult period passed on the mosque during the Corona crisis, as the school stopped inside the mosque, which called on those in charge of the association to keep the lessons in a remote manner so that students do not stop learning Arabic and the Holy Quran."

"The role of Al-Salam Mosque does not stop at teaching Arabic and spreading Islamic culture, but it has several social and religious activities. In Ramadan, for example, the mosque administration brings in a Quran memorizer from Arab countries to lead worshippers in Taraweeh prayers, and this year Sheikh Samer Niazi Jalloul arrived from Lebanon for this purpose."

"Before the Corona crisis, the mosque used to invite scholars and preachers from different places to give lectures on Islam, as well as a daily Ramadan Iftar in the mosque from donors from the Muslim community," he said.

The Arabic school is born of the keenness of parents to learn their sons and daughters the Arabic language and memorize the Holy Quran (Al Jazeera)

School of Arabic Language and Holy Quran

Dr. Ahmed Salloum, official of the Arab School, explains that the school is the result of the need of the people of the neighborhood and their keenness to teach their sons and daughters the Arabic language, read and write, and memorize what is available from the Holy Qur'an and integrate it into their lives, in addition to explaining and consolidating what must necessarily be taught from the teachings of their religion, so that their lives in the diaspora are straightened.

He pointed out that the school's teachers are residents of the neighborhood who have experience in teaching, and some of them are academics, pointing out that this school attracts a wide range of Arabic-speaking and non-native students of different age groups.

As for the curriculum and method of teaching, Salloum says to Al Jazeera Net, "Different classes are taught simplified series for students, and classes open on weekends. The Qur'an is memorized and recited in the manner of oral and indoctrination within separate Qur'anic circles in which students are distributed in proportion to their levels. The episodes are interspersed with sermons and explanations of the verses, their rulings and reflection."

Dr. Salloum adds that the school is funded primarily by donations, while the student pays a nominal fee that is later used to fund the school's activities and buy gifts and rewards.