Islamkolleg in Osnabrück celebrates start of training ,
Source: Islamkolleg Deutschland e.V.
"The Federal Government has set itself the goal of promoting, under the auspices of the German Islam Conference, training for imams and other religious staff in Muslim congregations in Germany that is autonomous and independent of foreign influence. The nationwide initial and advanced training programme offered by the Islamkolleg marks a key milestone on the way to achieving this goal. The IKD training programme is self-confidently German and Islamic in the spirit of an Islam rooted in our society which shares the values of our Basic Law and respects the different ways that people live in our country."
These were the words of Dr Markus Kerber, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community, whose responsibilities include the German Islam Conference, at the ceremony to open the Islamkolleg in Osnabrück on 15 June 2021.
Representatives of the Islamkolleg and from the spheres of politics, education, research, culture and religion gathered at Osnabrück's modern event and convention centre for the ceremony. In addition to State Secretary Kerber, speakers included former Federal President Christian Wulff, chair of the Islamkolleg's board of trustees; Björn Thümler, Minister for Science and Culture of the federal state of Lower Saxony; Wolfgang Griesert, mayor of the city of Osnabrück; and Prof. Dr Susanne Menzel-Riedl, president of the University of Osnabrück.
The Islamkolleg was founded as a registered association in 2019 by Islamic theologians at the University of Osnabrück (including Prof. Dr Bülent Uçar, Academic Director, and Dr Esnaf Begić, Chairman of the Board), umbrella organisations of mosque congregations (Alliance of Maliki Congregations, Islamic Community of Bosniaks in Germany, Central Council of Moroccans in Germany, Central Council of Muslims in Germany, Muslims in Lower Saxony) and individual Muslims.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community has supported the Islamkolleg as a model project since 1 July 2020, in accordance with the German Islam Conference's declared aim of promoting practical training offered in German for religious staff in Muslim congregations. This training is meant to follow on the study of Islamic theology, which has now been established at German universities. The planning phase, including the drafting of curricula, was completed in April 2021; now the two-year basic training course is being implemented, along with advanced training and training modules for people already working in Muslim congregations. This implementation phase will end in October 2025. The German Islam Conference is funding this phase with some €4.3 million, and Lower Saxony is providing a total of about €500,000 in co-financing.
Regardless of the funding for the Islamkolleg provided by the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community via the German Islam Conference, the training of religious personnel for Muslim congregations remains the responsibility of these congregations and their umbrella organisations. In view of constitutional law on relations between the state and religious organisations, the government cannot and does not wish to train such personnel itself, but it can provide support to establish the necessary training institutions.