Clerics & Preachers

Clerics & Preachers

Jewish rabbis and Muslim imams to join Bundeswehr chaplains German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wants the Bundeswehr's military chaplaincy to include rabbis and imams. She would like to have it done by the end of 2019. But there are still several potential issues.

April 12, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Since he became the first rabbi to complete an internship with the German military chaplaincy in 2004, Konstantin Pal has fought to make the Bundeswehr more open to different religions. Back then he accompanied a Catholic priest who was assigned to […]

Academics & Education

Germany to push for imams to be trained locally, not abroad In an effort to curb foreign influence and foster integration, the German government is pressing for imams to be educated locally, in Germany. Are German Muslim communities willing to back the idea? DW investigates.

April 5, 2019 and   

(Deutsche Welle) Forty-three-year-old imam Murat Gül is president of the Islamic Federation of Berlin and teaches Islam at the local Rosa Parks primary school. “Ever since I was a young boy, I had a love for the Koran,” said Gül, who was […]

Clerics & Preachers

NJ imam claims IDF chief rabbi condoned rape of Palestinian women Baker Assaf calls on Muslims to hate ‘Zionism’ rather than Jews, says Islam won’t accept gays but won’t ‘kick anybody off the Empire State Building’

March 30, 2019   

(Times of Israel) A New Jersey imam has accused the chief rabbi of the Israeli army of condoning the rape of Palestinian women. In a February sermon at the Islamic Center of Passaic County in Paterson, NJ, Baker Assaf said Muslims should […]

Academics & Education

Germany closes Muslim kindergarten over Islamist links The youth welfare office for the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate has revoked the operating license of a Muslim kindergarten. The day nursery was accused of promoting Salafist ideology.

February 11, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Officials in the city of Mainz on Monday withdrew the license of the only Muslim kindergarten in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate amid allegations that the facility was promoting Salafism. The president of the state’s youth office, Detlef Placzek, said the […]

Clerics & Preachers

Muslims say Germany should provide Bundeswehr with imams The Bundeswehr provides Catholic and Protestant clergy for soldiers, but no spiritual counsel for Muslims. According to the government, key questions must be answered before the Bundeswehr's religious ranks are expanded.

February 5, 2019   

(Deutsche Welle) Nariman Reinke, a naval petty officer, is one of about 1,500 Muslim soldiers who serve in the Bundeswehr. Born to [Moroccan] parents in 1979, Reinke has been in the military since 2005 and has twice deployed to Afghanistan. But being a Muslim […]

Children & Teens

These two women want to bring accountability to local mosques Abuse in the Muslim community is rarely discussed. But Alia Salem and Huma Yasin want to change that — starting with resources for victims.

January 11, 2019   

(D Magazine) In August of 2017, Alia Salem and Huma Yasin decided to launch something for Muslim parishioners to go for help. They’d seen enough. An imam in Irving had been accused of “sexually grooming” an 18-year-old congregant, beginning when she was […]