October 24, 2008	Friday	Shawwal 24, 1429

BERLIN, Oct 23: Berlin senators and members of the Muslim community launched a scheme this week to teach imams more about German society and boost dialogue between religious and non-religious groups. About 25 imams from all over the capital have registered to join the pilot programme including German history and politics lessons, with the aim of becoming better informed about the ways of life in the country they live in.

“In today’s world, imams are no longer just asked for advice on religious issues,” Berlin Integration Commissioner Guenter Piening said.

“They are also quizzed about mundane, everyday life,” said Piening, adding part of the course involved visiting the Bundestag lower house of parliament and then discussing Germany’s democratic political system.

Germany is home to about 3.2 million Muslims, most of whom have Turkish roots. Although relations are largely peaceful, the lack of integration is a worry for politicians.

Many Turks live in small communities and cannot speak German fluently, limiting their job prospects.

“I was motivated to join the programme because imams have a huge responsibility these days,” said Suat Oezkan, 38, one of the imams attending the course, which has two lessons per week.

“The programme offers a lot of support and is a wonderful way of creating more transparency between people from all religions,” he said.

The manager, who used to work as a television presenter in Turkey, said education was the only way of breaking down barriers and tackling Westerners’ fears about Islam.

The voluntary programme was developed and initiated by the Islam Forum Berlin, a group established in 2005 which meets Berlin’s Senate four times a year to discuss ways of improving the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in the city.

The forum groups representatives of the Muslim community with Berlin senators.

Germany’s federal government and the EU are funding the programme, which is being piloted in Berlin.“We’ve received a very positive response from both religious and non-religious communities,” Piening said.

—Reuters