Connecting with believers in testing times: German religious communities in the face of Covid-19

Germany has one of the highest numbers of confirmed cases of the novel Corona virus (Covid-19) in Europe. Emergency measures designed to slow the spread of the disease mean that ordinary public life has ground to a halt. In a raft of sweeping steps announced on March 16, the German federal and regional governments prohibited…

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The creation of a degree to train French Muslim military Chaplains:

The chief military chaplain, Abdelkader Arbi, has revealed in December the project outlines of the first professional training for French Muslim military chaplains, which should be open in September 2020. For three years, aspirants (bachelor’s degree holder at least) would receive an intensive formation of 25 hours training per week, mainly based on a practical…

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As Germany recruits Jewish military chaplains Muslims remain side-lined

Just like the population at large, the German Bundeswehr has undergone a remarkable trajectory of religious pluralisation in recent years. As of 2012, over 48,000 Catholics and over 63,000 Protestants served in the armed forces. This would mean that just over half of Germany’s 180,000 soldiers identified as Christian; a figure that maps quite closely onto…

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A new ethics of coexistence in Germany? Possibilities and pitfalls of a public intervention

In Germany, the number of attacks on minorities – routinely referred to as ‘hate crimes’ in English – remains enduringly high. At the same time, public debates also zone in on violence between minorities – as ceaseless discussions of a real or supposed ‘Muslim anti-Semitism’ underscore. Against this backdrop, Berlin-based Yehuda Teichtal and Raed Saleh…

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Women led prayer in France: an analyse of an unprecedented event

Saturday the 7th of September, for the first time in France a prayer has been led by two female Imams, in front of more than 50 believers and non-Muslims personalities invited for the occasion. This event, presented as the symbol of emergence of a French “liberal” or “progressive” Islam, has been quite well received by…

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