Germany’s first cohort of locally trained imams graduates Germany set up its own training school for imams due to the large number of foreign-trained Islamic religious leaders. The issue now is the lack of jobs for the graduates.

(Deutsche Welle) Twenty-four Muslims from across Germany formally passed their imam training at the country’s new Islamkolleg Deutschland in the northwestern city of Osnabrück on Saturday.

The graduates, who included men and women, received their first certificate of completion after attending a two-year part-time course.

“This is a historic day,” said the chairman of the Islamkolleg’s board of trustees, former German President Christian Wulff, during a press conference.

For the first time, imam aspirants completed their practical training in Germany, in the German language and with academic support, he added.

“This has not happened before, but was long overdue in view of the millions of Muslims in our country,” Wulff said, adding that the college was making an important contribution to peacebuilding and integration.

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