Religious education: New project connects school and mosque!

Religious education: New project connects school and mosque!

On March 8, 2025, the AIWG project workshop “Religious Education at Schools and Mosques” was launched. This project is a cooperation between the universities of Osnabrück and Paderborn and will run for two years. The focus is on religious education and didactic issues from an Islamic theological perspective. The aim of the project is the exchange between Muslim actors in teacher training and the interaction between school and mosque. In addition, the project incorporates the experiences of Jewish and Christian religious educators. This is intended to contribute to the reflection of Islamic religious instruction as part of the educational mandate in public schools, which is anchored in the Basic Law, Article 7.3, especially in the federal states of Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, where this instruction is offered.

The project is supported by several institutions. These include the Institute for Islamic Theology at the University of Osnabrück under the direction of Annett Abdel-Rahman, the Institute for Islamic Theology at the University of Paderborn under the direction of Naciye Kamcili-Yildiz and the Academy for Islam in Science and Society at the Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, represented by Dr. Raida Chbib. At the end of the project period, a position paper will be created that addresses the tasks and goals of religious learning as well as the relationship between school and mosque.

Research and promotion of young talent

Between 2018 and 2022, the AIWG organized an annual conference for doctoral students in Islamic theological studies. These conferences served the purpose of scientific exchange between young scientists and established academics. The forum was aimed at participants from Germany, Austria and Switzerland and took place in an interactive format that was co-designed by the doctoral students. In addition to the face-to-face events, digital research colloquia were also offered, which promoted networking and exchange about various research projects.

The topics of the further training courses ranged from rhetoric and presentation to academic writing and empirical research methods in Islamic theological studies. This series of conferences was concluded in 2022, and in the new term of the AIWG, the doctoral forum will be replaced by a new format for promoting young talent. Further information on this will be available on the Homepage published by the AIWG and in the newsletter.

Digital education and communication

In the context of the changing educational landscape, digitalization is of great importance. On October 30th there will be a cooperation event between the EKHN, EKKW, Zefis and the Islamic Theology of the JLU Giessen. Under the title "How real is virtual? Being human in and with the digital worlds" the event will be held at the Westend Campus of the Goethe University Frankfurt. Thematically, the focus will be on life between community and school in digital spaces.

The discussions will address the effects of the digital revolution on human relationships and communication, as well as questions about the design of (religious) education and communication processes in the digital age. The mixture of human and artificial intelligence is also discussed. The lecturers include renowned scientists such as Dr. Alfred John, Prof. Dr. Bekim Agai and Prof. Dr. Beate Hofmann. The program includes keynote speeches, workshops on education and digitality as well as stimulating panel discussions.

These initiatives clearly show that the interfaces between religion, education and digitalization are continually the focus of research and practical implementation. The interdisciplinary exchange will help to better understand and exploit the challenges and opportunities inherent in digital transformation.