Germany’s interior ministry announced on December 14th that it would stop accepting imams sent from Turkey and would instead train imams on home soil in a bid to boost integration of the country’s growing Muslim population. The issue of Turkish-trained imams has become a source of tension between Germany and Turkey.
"A training program that posts Turkish imams to German mosques is to be phased out as Germany looks to train its own Muslim clerics in a bid to encourage integration, the Interior Ministry announced on Thursday." https://t.co/zThscaQ4HT
— Muslim Voices Public Scholarship Project () December 25, 2023
Under a new agreement between the German Interior Ministry, the Turkish religious authority Diyanet, and the Turkish-Islamic umbrella group DITIB, a training program that posts Turkish-trained imams to German mosques will be phased out, and 100 imams will be trained each year in the western town of Dahlem.
These new imams will gradually replace the approximately 1,000 Muslim clerics trained and employed by the Turkish Diyanet. The German Islam Conference (DIK) said that roughly 6.6% of Germany’s population, or around 5.5 million people, identify as Muslim.
In a statement, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, "We need religious leaders who speak our language, know our country, and stand up for our values.”
"We want imams to get involved in the dialogue between religions and discuss questions of faith in our society," Faeser said. "This is an important milestone for the integration and participation of Muslim communities.”
Germany to halt admission of Turkey-trained imamshttps://t.co/5ME4PQBbSk
— FJ (@Natsecjeff) December 15, 2023
Of the 2,500 mosque communities in Germany, 900 are managed by the DITIB. DITIB is a branch of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Ankara. It is the largest Islamic association in Turkey but has also been accused of serving as an extended arm of the Turkish government under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
This announcement by the German Interior Ministry also came after the latest controversy involving the DITIB when a member of the Afghan Taliban spoke at one of its mosques in the western city of Cologne.
German officials called on DITIB in 2017 to undertake fundamental reforms after allegations that imams the Diyanet sent to Germany spied on behalf of the Turkish government in the wake of a failed coup against Erdogan. The Diyanet denied these accusations, and a probe was closed without any charges brought.
Germany launching multi-million dollar program to teach imams locally https://t.co/kt19C8enZl
— Robert Spencer (@jihadwatchRS) November 23, 2019
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel first spoke in favor of training Muslim clerics on German soil in 2018, telling the German parliament that it "will make us more independent and is necessary for the future."
The Interior Ministry said the plan to train 100 imams per year on German soil would take place as part of an existing DITIB program and through an additional program, adding that it sought "cooperation with the German College of Islam" in Osnabrück.
Disclaimer: This article was previously published on Atheist Republic blog.