GERMANY’S plan to launch a state-backed training centre for imams has been criticised by leading Turkish groups who believe it conflicts with the principle that religious communities alone are entitled to train their leaders, a Turkish pro-government daily, Daily Sabah, has reported.
According to the newspaper, the German government launched the initiative to help reduce the number of Islamic leaders coming in from abroad.
Leading Turkish-Muslim groups in Germany, including the Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) and National Vision (Milli Gorus), chose not to participate in the creation of the German College of Islam, with the DITIB launching its own training programme in Germany last year.
Germany’s first Islamic college started training imams in May. Instruction is held in German and partly financed by the German government in an effort to gain independence from Muslim countries that support imams in Germany.
The first term of the government-supported Islam College programme will provide a two-year education to the 20 male and female candidates, Deutsche Welle reported.
Germany is home to 81 million people and hosts the second-largest Muslim population in Western Europe after France.
Germany has experienced a rise in racism and anti-Muslim hatred in recent years, fuelled by the propaganda of neo-Nazi groups and the far-right opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
We Have Not Had Water Supply In Months ― Abeokuta Residents
In spite of the huge investment in the water sector by the government and international organisations, water scarcity has grown to become a perennial nightmare for residents of Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. This report x-rays the lives and experiences of residents in getting clean, potable and affordable water amidst the surge of COVID-19 cases in the state…Controversy as Germany begins Controversy as Germany begins
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. Our reporter joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…Controversy as Germany begins Controversy as Germany begins
and then