German Education Union Calls for Islamic Religious Education in Schools
One of Germany’s leading trade unions, the Education and Training Association (VBE), has called for comprehensive Islamic religious education to be offered in schools across the country. VBE Federal Chair Gerhard Brand, speaking to Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND), emphasised the importance of enabling all believers to speak about their own faith in school settings, as well as to gain knowledge about both their own and other religions.
“We are therefore calling on policymakers to act. The necessary staffing and material planning must be put in place to ensure that such lessons can be introduced in schools, and implementation should begin without delay. In this way, a comprehensive educational model can be established in the medium term,” Brand stated.
VBE also highlighted the need for a thorough evaluation of pilot projects on Islamic religious education currently running in some federal states. Where necessary, improvements should be made, and the programmes should be expanded in the short term. Religious education provision in Germany varies between states. In some regions, such as North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, Islamic religious instruction is already available. It is estimated that around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany.