How is the education of theology pursued in German? What happens if Islamic theology is studied and lectured with a quite analytic language of philosophy like German? Personally speaking, I have not studied languages or semantics. However, these were the questions circulating in my mind when I attended a meeting at the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt University where almost 175 Islamic scholars known to be the best in their fields from all parts of the world gathered under the same roof. The related questions, which we spontaneously form in Turkish without much consideration, when translated into German became different. However, one should not avoid discussing the question "to what extent do the religious need and questions of the European Muslims find their answers in the current studies of theology?"
It was quite a remarkable opportunity for me to watch the meeting Horizonte der Islamischen Theologie which was held in Germany with the purpose on determining the horizon of Islamic theology.
While we have been caught up with the formal religiousness, by this occasion I have figured that we neglected many discussions and contemplation on this issue like many others. It is evident that if we are isolated from the questions of this age, religious studies and philosophy, we might not be able to establish a future perception regarding Islam. This meeting organized by the Islamic Theology department, the Goethe Institute in Frankfurt left me with many question marks in my head whether we are ready to face the outcomes of such negligence or not.
Especially considering the increasing number of the young Muslims, in what language can they learn their religion best? How will the culture and methodology belonging to this language effect their Islamic perception?
Is it possible for them to learn their religion in the mosque with traditional methods in German, which is their native language? Do their minds shaped with the German methodology find the teaching of the religious information in the mosque sufficient? Can the scholars who are trained in the conditions of Turkey respond to a European youth"s questions in a satisfying way? These questions are important to Germans as well as they are for us.
There are almost 5 million Muslims living in Germany. The article of secularism in the German constitution law includes the protection of its citizens" rights of religion. Germany supports the religious education with the condition that it does not discord the society and comply with the pedagogical principles. It does not intervene with the content, but stipulates certain criteria regarding the acceptance of a scientific and interdisciplinary work. The connections, which are going to be linked with sociology, psychology, pedagogy and theology, are significant for the Islamic theology in order to become a university program.
With its population of 3 million Muslims, Germany could never find any authority that would provide itself the service while meeting its own criteria. First, Turkey and then Morocco, along with other Arabic countries, sent their imams but there occurred certain problems between these imams and the society in terms of language and qualifications. The culture and language of the youth who were raised in the German society is German. The communication problem between the educated German youth and imams is considered to be a major problem by their parents, too.
On account of this and other reasons, since 2010 Germany has assigned a budget with an amount of 29 million Euros in order for the schools of theology to be opened. The number of the bachelors and masters students who study in the departments of Frankfurt, Tübingen, Erlangen, Münster and Osnabrück reached around 1500. Seventy percent of these students are Turkish. Among those who study theology are Bosnians, Iranians, Arabs and a small number of Germans. Seventy percent of the theology students are female.
Perhaps for this reason, in this meeting, which assembled the global scholars of theology, ladies who were working actively and watching sessions carefully have not been eluded from the eyes. Also, women theologicians stood out with their contribution concerning the content of the topics and panel discussions. Prof. Ömer Özsoy who went to Frankfurt from Ankara University as the department head received a great acclaim on account of the friendly relations he set up between Turks and Muslims from other countries. In all of his dialogues, his effort to reinforce the theology department in German universities and provide an international and multidisciplinary perspective to his students was clear.
In the panel discussions of the Goethe Institute, many topics were covered ranging from the Quran, Hadith, Seerah to the perception of women, terms, education problems. At the same time, students coming from various cities had the opportunity to meet with the worldly reputed theology scholars and talk with them. These conversations were as enlightening and broadening as panels.
The theology students had to meet with the reference figures and communicate with them. There were two points which caught my attention the most: a great demand on the religious pedagogy. They cannot find trained people on this area in Turkey. Especially female students used the term "spiritual guide" for their master thesis. When translated from German, the term means an assistant who helps in faith crises and thus has a mysterious and superficial meaning. I am wondering about the outcomes of this term when it is going to be studied under the framework of Islamic theology. Also, the question of medical ethics was another field, which drew my attention among the theology students.
The Turk who knows Malay
When I was making a documentary with the title "the woman in Muslim countries", I became upset because Murat Korkmaz, who was our tour guide in Indonesia and Malaysia, went through a traffic accident and passed away. He was the only person who knew Malay and its dialects and could do the tour guiding in those regions. He gained the hearts of the people in both countries and made many friendships. He was the intermediary person who established the bridges between Turks and Muslims in both countries. He truly contributed a lot. May God show him mercy. I send my condolences to his family. I am sure that, just as we do, many people will remember him with good qualities and prayers of mercy in a vast geography of both countries.
