Muslim associations in Germany

Europe and its Muslims

Islamic theology in Germany: Spanning the divide

Five German universities have been offering degrees in Islamic theology since 2010. How successful are these courses and how much influence do the universities have? Arnfrid Schenk takes stock
Interview with Tunisian Secretary of State Saida Ounissi

Don′t marginalise your Muslims

In 2014, Saida Ounissi (29) was elected to the Tunisian Parliament as an MP for the Ennahda movement. She is currently Secretary of State to the Ministry of Vocational Training and Labour. In interview with Peter Schaefer, she describes growing up with Islamophobia and racism in France and suggests ways of preventing youth radicalisation
DITIB Central Mosque in Cologne

A place to pray, a place to meet

For many Muslims in western Germany, a dream has finally come true. Years behind schedule, the Central Mosque in Cologne finally opened its doors in the middle of Ramadan. The faithful can now pray there every day. Ulrike Hummel went along to see it
Interview with Imam Benjamin Idriz

Questioning tradition

Muslims are not only permitted to ask critical questions of their theology; it is actually necessary – the opinions of scholars distort the view of the Koran, says Benjamin Idriz, imam of the mosque in Penzberg, Upper Bavaria, in conversation with Claudia Mende
Constantin Schreiber′s controversial mosque report

Outside Islam

Constantin Schreiber, a German television journalist, conducted research on sermons given in Muslim houses of prayer and used it to produce a book and some TV reports. Now he has come under fire. Schreiber is accused of employing underhand methods and taking a biased approach to his subject. Is there anything in the criticism? Canan Topcu has the answers
Germany′s integration debate revisited

Piling on the pressure

What exactly does integration mean? And just how much allegiance may a society demand of its migrants? Such questions are currently the topic of vigorous debate – especially following the recent referendum result in Turkey. Expecting that migrants should do all the adapting in order to conform to the majority society will, however, only stir up conflict, warns Claudia Mende
Constantin Schreiber′s controversial mosque report

Outside Islam

Constantin Schreiber, a German television journalist, conducted research on sermons given in Muslim houses of prayer and used it to produce a book and some TV reports. Now he has come under fire. Schreiber is accused of employing underhand methods and taking a biased approach to his subject. Is there anything in the criticism? Canan Topcu has the answers
The secularisation of Muslims

Silent withdrawal

While the emerging religious demography only counts members of the Church as Christians, Hindus, Jews, Muslims etc. are counted as religious from birth – with no option to leave their religion. This skews the statistics and our perceptions. By Michael Blume
Syrian refugees and Arab mosques in Germany

″Allah is listening″

Syrian refugees in Germany are alarmed by Arab mosques, often supported by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, which preach ultra-conservative or highly literal interpretations of Islam, such as Wahhabism or Salafism. By Joseph Nasr
Germany′s Muslims and the refugees

Integrating a new generation

What do Muslim migrants who have already lived in Germany for many years think about the recent arrivals and the European refugee crisis? Canan Topcu found out what Afghan, Turkish, Arab and Bosnian migrants in Hesse have to say
The Avicenna scholarship programme

Cosmopolitan and female

Avicenna is the first state-sponsored Muslim scholarship programme in Germany. It supports gifted and socially-committed students of all disciplines. Report by Arnd Zickgraf
New Year′s Eve and Islam in Germany

A gift from the gods

What happened in Cologne is being instrumentalised on all sides. Islamist preachers such as Pierre Vogel and Muslim representatives in Germany are using the events to clalm that salvation lies, as ever, in the strict observance of religious rules. This is simply serving to widen the rift, writes Stefan Buchen