The interior Ministry wants to miss the Islam conference, a new crop. The influence of the organized and often conservative Islam associations to be low. Not all think that is a good idea.
After the summer break, it should go in the case of the German Islam conference in a different way. The least warm and welcoming, the Federal government wants the Ministry of the interior, under the incumbent, Horst Seehofer of the CSU. His Secretary of state Markus Kerber started on Friday via the “image”-newspaper of a debate, when he announced: “We must be much stronger than in the past, the variety in Germany is not yet organized Muslim fellow citizens to the centre of the Islam conference.”
What Kerber does not say so, but, of course, says: The strong influence of the Islamic associations-with their often conservative interpretation of the religious law is to be urged in the dialogue forum. In the 2017 the past work phase of the German Islam conference, only representatives of these associations were members of the Board. Critics have pointed to the fact that Muslim life in Germany was more colorful. And in March, secular, migrant organizations said the Islam conference has failed, it should not be reformed.
“The Islamic associations of bounds, I can’t,”
Erika Theissen shakes his head. The she was in the year of 2015, a consultant of the dialogue forum and runs a training centre for Muslim women in Cologne. She converted 30 years ago to Islam, “as this was not the case with Islam so sensitive,” as she told in an interview with DW. You sound a little unnerved about how grim is currently on the relationship between the state and Islam is a fight.
Not, but integrate the displayed columns are: Erika Theissen
The idea that the influence of the Islamic associations, pushing back, considered you as a devout Muslim, skeptical. “The associations do not exclude that.” Anyone who believe that the need for houses of worship and mosque communities. It’s not going so simply to let these actors in an inter-religious dialogue not taken into account. “It would also bring no Christian dialogue, if it would only bring enemies of Christianity,” argues the teacher. The German policy of mosque communities is always under a General suspicion, have unsettled many members strong, says Theissen.
The place of critical debate, the Islam conference is
Gökay Sofuoğlu, Federal Chairman of the Turkish community in Germany, one of the mentioned associations, shows, however, surprisingly open to the plans in the Ministry. The DW he said: “The dialogue in the German Islam conference can not only be combined with the existing associations.” There is a need for a discourse with critical personalities, the organized associations to challenge you in your views. “The place for this discussion must be the German Islam conference,” the Chairman of the Turkish community. Therefore, there is no way around lead to a restructuring of the Islamic conference. Kerber announced that probably in November again, individuals should be included in the panel, “sure, critical Muslim voices on Islam”.
He shows open Gökay Sofuoglu, the Turkish community of Germany
The aim of the Reform, it was, argued the Secretary of state Kerber, the Definition of a “German Islam”. “There is a German Catholicism, it is Protestantism, and there is a German Judaism”. It could, and should, therefore, also a German Islam, Kerber. He is in the Ministry of the interior for the newly formed Department of homeland responsible. Gökay Sofuoğlu feels the search for such a German Islam somewhat strange: “to define religions according to Nations, is a bit difficult.” But he also hope that you’ve been in a few years, an Islam that belong really to Germany. Irritated the Chairman of the Turkish community showed that the integration Commissioner of the Federal government, Annette Widmann-Mauz, I lost this during a Meeting with Islamic associations on Tuesday not a word about the plans of the Federal government.
A Minister of the interior, the boycott of the recent Islam conference in June: Horst Seehofer of the CSU
Because of the complicated structure of the currently existing associations there are no state contracts, such as with the churches, in which rights, such as religious education, pastoral care in state institutions, and the collection of Church taxes. For the Islamic religious education, and academic chairs for Islamic theology at German universities were developed constructs. One of the open questions is, as before, the training of imams in Germany. State Secretary Kerber also appealed against the influence of Turkey in Germany. This is, therefore, necessary “to the interests of the Muslim German citizens to better protect”. German Chancellor Angela Merkel have them cope in the past year, any kind of interference. “Mezut Özil and the millions of Turkish-origin German nationals belong to us,” said Kerber with the reference to the football player who was before the world Cup because of a photo with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the criticism.
According to a spokesperson for the Federal Ministry of the interior as a result of the experiences in the past “probably” no fixed membership, but “a flexible, theme-oriented, and, ultimately, the format-dependent composition” . The question of who can represent Islam in Germany and may also determine in the future the debate.