After the decision of the state parliament on Tuesday to introduce Islamic lessons as a standard offer in Bavarian schools, displeasure has risen among Islamic associations. The core of the criticism is the fact that the subject is not introduced as a denominational elective, as is the case with Christian religious instruction. When it comes to teaching Islam, the state retains the reins. Regardless of whether it is about the training of the teachers, the content of the lessons or the selection of teachers.
“We cannot say thank you,” said Aykan Inan, managing director of Ditib Bayern and spokesman for the relatively new coordination council of Islamic religious communities in Bavaria, on Wednesday. The concept, according to which, after a state parliament decision on Tuesday evening, a long-term model project will now become a standard offer, is “not in the interests of the constitution”.
Specifically, the criticism relates to Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law. Accordingly, religious instruction should be given “in accordance with the principles of the religious communities” “without prejudice to state supervisory law”. According to the interpretation of Islamic associations, they – and not the Free State – should select the teachers, train them and create the curriculum.
However, they currently lack the legal prerequisite for this: namely, an official recognition as a cooperating religious community by the Free State, which defines the content of their faith and authorizes the teachers to give the lessons. The Ministry of Culture refers to this. “That is why Islamic instruction in Bavaria is given as a non-denominational offer for which the state is solely responsible,” said a spokesman.
Islamic instruction is currently being given in 350 schools
It has been twelve years since Islamic lessons were offered as a model project at selected Bavarian schools. Students should have reliable information about Islam; In addition, it should be prevented that young people come across extremists looking for information on the Internet. Islamic lessons are currently being given by around 100 teachers at 350 schools – this is likely to remain the case in the coming school year. “We don’t expect a big jump,” said a spokesman.
The educators are trained at the Chair for Islamic Religious Education at the Friedrich-Alexander University (FAU) in Erlangen-Nuremberg. Many are lateral entrants and come from Muslim countries such as Turkey, Tunisia or Morocco. Together with their students, they should also critically question extremist excesses under the guise of Islam. The Bavarian regional association of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany welcomes this: “There must be no taboos in the classrooms,” said Mohamed Abu El Qomsan.
Like Inan, he would prefer to see teaching in the hands of the Muslim associations. “The way it is now, we can’t be happy about it,” he said. The Free State has asked the Muslim associations to provide feedback on the curriculum. However, many associations have waived this – including Ditib and the Central Council. “We do not want to give indications and hope that they will be accepted. We want to have a say,” said Inan from Ditib.
Some MPs would prefer “Values” to “Islam”
For many years, Bavarian Muslims have been wrestling with the Ministry of Culture for Islamic instruction. And not just them: some members of the state parliament wanted to see “values science” taught instead of “Islam”. Fear of a lower acceptance among Muslim families, however, they stayed with Islamic classes. This should also promote the integration of young Muslims.
This is also emphasized by the Bavarian integration officer, Gudrun Brendel-Fischer (CSU). With the new compulsory elective, a “further, important milestone for the integration of our Muslim fellow citizens is set.” Mehmet Yalcin also believes in this. For almost 18 years he has been bringing Muslims closer to their faith in Bavarian schools. For people like him, Tuesday’s vote also means predictability: “We hung in the air for a long time.” Now teachers like him are to be given temporary employment contracts. He also sees this as positive for Islamic education: “Now the subject has a completely different status,” he said.
Provided that the courts don’t overturn the plan after all. Various secular organizations, including the Federation for Freedom of the Mind in Bavaria and the Munich regional group in the support group of the Giordano-Bruno-Stiftung eV, filed a complaint with the Bavarian Constitutional Court on Wednesday. Their criticism is aimed at a different point than that of the Islamic associations: religious instruction has no place in schools, is the argument.