What should be the future of Islamic religious

Wolfram Weiße
Cologne, July 14, 2010
Additional contribution accompanying the presentation by Harry Harun Behr:
What should be the future of
Islamic religious education studies in Germany?
Structural arrogance could come into play when a Protestant Christian academic in the
field of religious education is asked to talk about the future of Islamic religious education studies in Germany: From the perspective of a discipline established and continuously evolved over 100 years, ideas are debated that have been developed in the context
of Islamic religious education for merely 10 years. So, perhaps to nobody’s surprise, this
is not my approach. Personally I have learned a lot in recent years through intensive,
collegial cooperation with the main representatives of Islamic religious education studies. This is why I am confident that the ideas emerging from this field have been developed and evaluated with great dynamics and at a high academic level, and that they not
only are significant in their own context but also present a challenge to the field of religious education studies as a whole to reflect anew. I will return to this point at the end
of my contribution.
My remarks are structured as follows: In the introduction I explain my background experience and outline my own position, to provide a comprehensible backdrop for my
subsequent comments on the future of Islamic religious education as an academic discipline.
I.
Introduction1
The discussion about the rationale, forms and integration of Islamic religious education
(RE) in German schools has been intensifying for some years now. The interest in these
issues flows from very diverse motivations. While some parties wish to establish Islamic
RE at public [state-run] schools with the intention to cut off possibly fundamentalist
madrassas, there are others that aim to install Islamic, in addition to Christian RE for
reasons of equality.
1
The introduction elucidates the background for my comments on Harry Harun Behr’s lecture. It is largely
identical to the introduction to my talk at the WR Congress in Berlin, June 17, 2010 (see WR homepage for
download).
2
Islamic religious education as an instrument of integration?
Apart from the motivations, the possible purposes of Islamic RE appear to be a central
issue. It is often asserted that the introduction of Islamic RE would be an instrument of
integration for the Muslim population. But is this basic assumption actually correct?
Even if the strengthening of opportunities to learn about Islam within the school system
would be a welcome measure, it remains questionable if the establishment of additional,
separate Islamic RE lessons at public schools would actually promote integration. Such
separate Islamic instruction would reflect the denominational structure of Christian RE,
which is predominant in most German states. However, we must note that this approach
could contribute to a hardening of the separatist construction of Protestant, Catholic,
Islamic, etc. religious education. Integration in our society through increased separation
in our schools – how is that supposed to work?
RE for all: an alternative?
There are other options for religious education, which are not necessarily practical templates, but at least illustrate the spectrum of possible approaches to religious education:
In Hamburg – as in many other regions of Europe – RE lessons are taught without separating the students according to religions or worldviews (Weiße 2008). With few exceptions, the state schools in Hamburg offer dialogical “RE for all”. This is done with the
support of representatives from various religious communities in Hamburg, including
Schura, the Islamic umbrella organization. Schura declined the offer by the state to introduce separate Islamic RE lessons in Hamburg, because it is against a division of the
student body based on religious affiliation. The view of religious education adopted in
Hamburg is that, while education into a religion is a task for parents and congregations,
the responsibility of the public schools is a different one: introducing the students to
religious themes so that they are enabled to connect the traditions of various religions
with their own Lebenswelt.
The aim is not to initiate children and young people into a particular faith, but introduce
them to all the religions lived in our society, the “religions next door”. This necessitates
stronger consideration of the plurality of religions in teacher training. Educationally reasonable and legally acceptable solutions are required, so that “RE for all” can be taught
not just by Christian teachers, but also by teachers with a Muslim, Jewish or Buddhist
background. Therefore, with the “Academy of World Religions” a concept is being de-
3
veloped in Hamburg to install scholarship and research of the world religions in such a
way that it strengthens dialog at a high academic level.
Religious education in Europe
We see a strong growth in interest in religion and religious education in Europe and
worldwide. The aim is to accommodate the religious diversity found in the countries of
Europe in the public schools so as to strengthen the dialog between the religions, instead
of promoting the separations between them. The inclusion of Islam is a first and very
important step in this direction. However, to avoid the creation of new discriminations,
other religions and worldviews must also be considered.
In my opinion, dialog is essential in religious education. Whatever the structure, we
need RE lessons
-
with students talking to others, not about them,
-
where meetings with others can be didactically shaped and happen every day,
-
where differences are neither airbrushed out nor give rise to discrimination.
Extensive empirical studies on religion in the education systems in Europe (c.f. Knauth
et al 2008) show: Independent of the form of religious instruction, and despite their occasional prejudices, students always show interest in people of other cultures and religions. Students are convinced that people of different religions can live together, if they
really wish to. As the RE teachers must be prepared for this challenge, the universities
are called upon to implement structural changes towards a pluralization of theology and
a differentiation of religious education as a discipline. This is not going to be easy, but it
is necessary.
II.
On the future of Islamic religious education studies
Regarding Islamic religious education studies, allow me to use a well-worn phrase: The
future has already arrived. This future is visible by the remarkable approaches already in
existence, which, however, still require more intensity and differentiation. After all, the
wider development of religious education theories will be essential for the future development of Islamic religious education as an academic discipline. Conversely, the future
development of Islamic religious education studies will be of considerable importance
for religious education theory in general. These aspects inform the structure of my
comments on the future of Islamic religious education studies.
4
1.
What is the status quo of Islamic religious education studies in Germany?
The conceptional and, in some cases, empirical developments achieved in the field of
Islamic religious education studies in only a few years are astonishing.
These developments are associated with work by Harry Harun Behr, Bulent Ucar, Mouhanad Khorchide, Rabbeya Müller, Dan-Paul Jozsa, Abdulkader Tayob and others. For
me, the outstanding examples are:
•
the linking of theological and educational systems of reference,
•
the student-oriented approach,
•
the interreligious perspective, with reference to old tradition,
•
the inclusion of empirical studies,
•
the development of curricula for teacher training and Islamic religious studies.
These are impressive beginnings, leading the way with great openness, productive questions and international contexts. This is all the more astonishing as Islamic religious studies were introduced without (much) preparation, under a lot of pressure and burdened
with great expectations on the part of the public. The foundations have been laid, but
there is still much to do.
2.
What work still needs to be done in research and academic teaching in
the coming years, and what decisions may still have to be made?
I would cite two aspects: On the one hand, there is a backlog that has to be addressed;
on the other, there is the chance and necessity to make use of existing scopes for action.
“Backlog”
Considering the more than 100 years of history of Protestant and Catholic religious education studies in Germany, there is clearly some need for action, especially in the area of
concepts, e.g. hermeneutical, problem-oriented or symbol-didactic religious instruction.
Although some context has already been created by Islamic religious education theory,
the elaboration of different concepts still demands more time and energy. To a limited
extent, this also applies to the area of empirical research using methods from the social
sciences to gain insights into the objectives of religious instruction as perceived by
teachers, the expectations and religious background of students or classroom interaction.
5
All these are important research topics, which were picked up only partially and relatively recently in Protestant and Catholic RE studies, too. So this is less a matter of
catching up than adopting a pioneering field of research independently or in cooperation
with others.
“Fields of action and decisions“
This primarily concerns the following issues, which arise from my outside perspective
and can only be presented as a brief list of bullet points:
•
Curricula for teacher training and religious instruction (not restricted to religious
studies)
•
Prioritization of the reference disciplines (education studies, social studies, philosophy, Islamic Theology and other theologies
•
Cooperation with other disciplines.
•
Structural and conceptional decisions about how Islamic RE should be established at public schools
•
More detailed proposals for a division of tasks in the field of religious education:
responsibilities of schools, congregations and families.
•
Linking the conceptional and empirical projects with basic research and pilot projects; learning through encounters between learning groups separated by denomination and religion and internal differentiation in RE lessons for all.
3.
Impulses for religious education studies as a whole
One thing is clear: The future of Islamic religious education studies does not lie in striving to “catch and overtake” the respective Protestant and Catholic disciplines. It can
confidently follow its own approach, sound out the possibilities of religious education
studies from a fresh perspective and provide strong impulses for the self-perception of
the discipline. Islamic religious education studies can help putting the entire field of
religious education studies on a new footing, starting with the very name of the subject,
which was questioned by Harry Harun Behr and others. Is “Islamic religious studies” the
appropriate designation? This is not just about terminology. Rather, the question points
to a wider horizon of religious education studies as a whole, as is made clear by Harry
Harun Behr:
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“Do Muslim children learn about religion in different ways than their nonMuslim peers? In other words, an Islamic RE lesson is only good if it is a good
RE lesson; religious education is only good if it is good education; lessons are
only good if the teacher is good. Therefore we dare the following prognosis: Research on religious learning in the context of Islamic RE could provide impulses
and leave its mark on Protestant and Catholic religious education, too“ (Behr
2010, p.143).
I see approaches like those expressed in Behr’s statement as a challenge to look at new
ways for religious education studies, especially concerning Protestant and Catholic religious education. Such positions from the field of Islamic religious education provide the
potential for rethinking the attitude of denominational religious education studies and
asking, in what form e.g. interreligious learning should be developed in the future. The
challenge of dialog and contact in religious education is thematized, increasingly, in all
streams of religious education theory, both in Germany and internationally. Could it be
the case that such efforts are less convincing when attempted in denominational and separatist religious education studies? And what could be the structure of an interreligious
form of religious education studies? The answers to these questions could influence terminology, as well: Could it be more appropriate to drop the terms Protestant, Catholic or
Islamic religious education studies and rather speak of religious education studies with
emphasis on the Protestant, Catholic or Islamic faith, respectively, and with an interreligious orientation? I thank you and look forward to the discussion.
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