Muslim associations in Germany
All topics-
Young Islam Conference
Interface between politics and society
The Young Islam Conference sees itself as both a forum for dialogue and a mouthpiece for young Muslims and non-Muslims alike. It seeks to counter prejudice and negative ideas about Islam in Germany. Shohreh Karimian spoke to Esra Küçük, the managing director of the Young Islam Conference, about the forum's background and aims
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Interview with Naika Foroutan on Germany's Islam Conference
Encouraging developments
Germany's Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has announced that the German Islam Conference will no longer concern itself with security issues. For sociologist Naika Foroutan of Berlin's Humboldt University, this is a positive sign. At last, the conference will be able to concentrate on ensuring religious equality for Muslims in Germany. Claudia Mende spoke to her
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Interview with Kerem Öktem
Farewell to the "Islamic Vatican"?
Diyanet, Turkey's state-run Directorate General for Religious Affairs, is often referred to as a kind of Islamic "mini-Vatican". The Ankara-based authority seeks to shape the religious lives of Turkish Muslims living in Western Europe. In Germany, the Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), a federation of almost 900 mosque communities, is closely allied with Diyanet. Claudia Mende asked German scholar Kerem Öktem of St Anthony's College Oxford to what extent Ankara influences debates about religious matters in Germany
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Changing the orientation of Germany's Islam Conference
New agenda, same old faces
Since the row that erupted at last year's Islam Conference, dialogue between the German state and its Muslim residents has faltered. Now, the new interior minister, Thomas de Maizière, wants to get things moving again by changing the forum's orientation. But what can the German Islam Conference realistically hope to achieve in the future? By Ulrike Hummel
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Dispute about Prof Mouhanad Khorchide
A conflict of many layers
The dispute about Mouhanad Khorchide, director of the Centre for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster, is heating up. Although the conflict is ostensibly about the "correct" interpretation of Islam, it is also an attempt by the Islamic associations in Germany to make a show of strength to politicians. The dispute has dire consequences for the discipline of Islamic theology, which is still in its infancy in Germany. By Canan Topçu
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Mouhanad Khorchide's Reformist Theology
De-politicizing the Koran
Mouhanad Khorchide aims to reconcile Islam with the modern world. His aim is to liberate the Koran from all outward trappings and return to the religion's spiritual core Claudia Mende introduces the man and his work
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Islamic Community under Suspicion
A Disservice to Reformers
The Islamic community Milli Görüs is the second-largest Muslim organisation in Germany. It is being kept under close observation by the federal and state offices for the protection of the constitution, impeding dialogue with policymakers and the public – as well as progressive reform from within. By Ursula Rüssmann
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Interview with Naika Foroutan
''Young Muslims wish to play their part in shaping Germany''
A new study is shedding light on the worlds in which young Muslims in Germany live. Britta Mersch talked to Naika Foroutan from the Institute of Social Sciences at Berlin's Humboldt University about its findings
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Post-graduate Programme on Islamic Theology
''Muslim Theologians are Instigators of Change''
Islamic theology is still a very new academic discipline at German universities. It is hoped that a new nationwide post-graduate programme will boost its development, lead to increased representation of Muslims in Germany, and lay the groundwork for the training of state schoolteachers of Islam. As Christoph Dreyer reports, expectations are high all round