13 August 2010
Calls for an Islamic theology in Germany are growing ever louder. But the challenge that this represents is underestimated not only by politics, but also by Christian theologians and cultural scholars, writes theologian Klaus von Stosch. Ever since the German Science Council published its recommendations for “Islamic Studies” at German universities, the desire to see a German Islamic theology appears to have become a common cause for all the major political parties in our country. Islamic theology and its attendant infrastructure for the education of Islamic religious teachers and imams is apparently viewed by many as the magic formula for the integration of Muslims living in Germany.
But the institutions are not necessarily prepared for this major project. The author claims that it will not be easy for German universities to overcome the challenges. They will only succeed if a competition of various academic institutions can be organised in the medium-term, thereby allowing for the possibility of trying out a number of different models. In this context attention must be paid in the first instance to the promotion of young blood in the field of Islamic theology, because at present there are virtually no eligible German-speaking Islamic theologians for the study field to be established.
