Germany set to take charge of imam education locally

Deutsche Welle ^ | 11.16.2019 | Seda Serdar

[Olog-hai]

The government has long struggled with foreign involvement when it comes to the education of imams who lead Muslim communities across Germany. Now, a new educational association, with start-up funding from Germany’s interior ministry, is set to launch on November 21.

Even though some Muslim organizations have been training imams for their own communities in Germany, the majority of imams working in the country are affiliated with the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB). Among Germany’s nearly 4.5 million Muslims, around 3 million are of Turkish origin. […]

DITIB is Germany’s largest Islamic umbrella group, with 900 affiliated mosques. Its imams are educated, financed and sent from Turkey. So the language and cultural barrier, together with many of these imams’ loyalty to the Turkish government, has pushed the German government to deal intensively with the issue in recent years. […]

One of the organizations that will take part in the new association will be the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD), confirmed its chairman, Aiman Mazyek. […]

Constitutionally, the German state is required to stay out of religious community affairs. However, according to (Green Party) parliamentarian (Filiz) Polat, the neutrality of the state is safeguarded through the founding of an independent association, which will be located in the state of Lower Saxony. …

[DugwayDuke]

Oh, goodie. The government instructing preachers on what they can and cannot preach. Do they really think their ‘trained’ preachers will be respected?

[VietVet876]

Hitler is shaking so much with glee that he has urinated in his leather shorts.

[laplata]

If I read this right, the Muslims will not go along.

[dp0622]

You’re right. I don’t how anyone can miss that.

[Tallguy]

Germany... get ready for your new state religion.