Conference on Islam: Greens call for recognition of Islamic religious communities

On Wednesday, the 4th German Conference on Islam will begin in Berlin for the first time under the chairmanship of Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU). The Greens do not expect that the conference under his leadership will soon reach conclusions: "It is to be feared that much of the time of the debate will be first used to alleviate disruptions resulting from the atmosphere, "said Bundestag faction leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt.

Seehofer had said in March, shortly after his appointment as Federal Minister of the Interior, that the phrase "Islam belongs to Germany" is wrong. However, in the run-up to the conference, he proposed a more conciliatory tone. In a contribution to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung", he wrote on "Islam in, for and for Germany".

Göring-Eckardt calls for a fresh start of the dialogue forum. It also means that in Germany, more imams will be trained. "Finally, we need concrete proposals for the recognition of Islamic religious communities".

However, with regard to the Turkish Islamic Federation Ditib, it has limited the need to not recognize badociations "that do not accept the fundamental constitutional principles of our society, for example by spying on their members and extended Erdogan regime ".

Founded in 2006, the conference is the federal government's central forum for dialogue with Muslims in Germany. It brings together German Muslims and representatives of federal, state and local governments. In recent years, she has addressed issues such as religious education and Islamic pastoral ministry. At the beginning of the meeting, Seehofer will give an introductory speech.

Do not fund mosques from abroad

Jens Spahn, Minister of Health and CDU presidential candidate, also addressed the conference. He demanded binding rules for Muslims for integration into Germany. "We have freedom of religion and there should also be mosques in Germany," he told the "Rheinische Post".

In the long run, integration will only succeed "if these mosque communities see themselves as German mosque communities and not, for example, as Turks," he told the paper. Mosques should not be financed from abroad, imams should be educated in Germany and also speak German.

"The task remains that the federal and state governments define the legal framework for Muslim life in Germany," said Spahn. "We must speak to Muslims in the concrete way."

The previous week, prominent experts from Islam, including Cem Özdemir, a member of the Green Party, had founded the Secular Islam Initiative. The goal of the group is to make contemporary understanding of Islam heard, as reported "time". The group criticized the supremacy of conservative religious badociations in the Islamic conference.

"Major deficits"

Seehofer has invited liberal theologians and scientists in addition to Islamic badociations this year. Some of them had severely criticized the badociations in the past for their conservative understanding of Islam.

Federal integration commissioner Annette Widmann-Mauz has demanded an "emancipation" of mosque badociations from abroad and a restructuring of the representation of Muslims in Germany. "Those who want to be part of Germany as an badociation of mosques can not stay in Riyadh or Ankara.And those who want to increase the church tax, for example , must meet the legal criteria, "said the political officer of the newspaper" Bild "at the CDU.

The Central Council of Muslims in Germany has strengthened confidence in mosque communities. "I can only warn against considering the mosque community as a problem, quite the contrary: this is part of the solution," said President Aiman ​​Mazyek of Germany's editorial network. At the same time, he acknowledged "significant deficits" and mistakes in Muslim religious communities.