Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05FRANKFURT2478
2005-03-30 08:21:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Frankfurt
Cable title:  

Pilot Project to Introduce Muslim Religious

Tags:  KISL PHUM PGOV GM 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 002478 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KISL PHUM PGOV GM
SUBJECT: Pilot Project to Introduce Muslim Religious
Instruction in Baden-Wuerttemberg Public Schools

REF: a) Berlin 979, b) 04 Frankfurt 5675

Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 002478

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KISL PHUM PGOV GM
SUBJECT: Pilot Project to Introduce Muslim Religious
Instruction in Baden-Wuerttemberg Public Schools

REF: a) Berlin 979, b) 04 Frankfurt 5675

Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution


1. (U) SUMMARY: In a first for Germany, the Baden-
Wuerttemberg (B-W) state government will introduce religious
instruction for Muslims in select public elementary schools
beginning next year. Twelve schools will participate in the
program's initial four-year pilot program. Five years in
the making, the initiative was hampered in part by a
fragmented Muslim position (reflecting the diversity of
Islam in Germany -- ref A). All major political B-W parties
welcomed the move, hailing it as an important step in
integrating the state's large and growing Muslim population.
END SUMMARY.

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State Forecasts Continued Growth in Muslim Population
-------------- --------------


2. (U) According to an unpublished government report, the
state's Muslim population has doubled since 1987 to 610,000
persons (5.7% of the state's population) -- considerably
higher than earlier estimates of around 400,000. The report
forecasts the state's Muslim population will grow by about a
quarter in the next ten years (to over 750,000 in 2015).
Experts cite continued immigration and a relatively high
birth rate (every tenth child in Baden-Wuerttemberg is born
to Muslim parents) as reasons for the increase. Turks and
Germans of Turkish descent comprise the largest group
(332,500 or about 55%). According to the report, 70,000
Muslim students are registered in B-W schools; the state has
318 mosques. Over a third of the state's Muslim population
lives in and around the state capital of Stuttgart.

-------------- --------------
Pilot Program for B-W Islamic Classes Begins in 2006
-------------- --------------


3. (U) Beginning in 2006, twelve Baden-Wuerttemberg
elementary schools will offer religious instruction for
Muslim students in grades one through four as part of a four-
year pilot program. Baden-Wuerttemberg and participating
Muslim groups will jointly fund the classes. The B-W
Education Ministry has already identified instructors of
Turkish descent to teach the classes (in German). Religious
instructors must attend certification seminars at a state
teaching college (in the absence of university certification
programs which currently exist for Christian and Jewish
religious instructors).


4. (U) This breakthrough caps extended negotiations between
state authorities and a diverse Muslim community (the
working group for curriculum development, chaired by the B-W
Education Ministry, included members of five Islamic
organizations). After four years of discussion, the working
group ultimately decided to make local Islamic organizations
responsible for the classes in their area. Representatives
of Alevi Muslims (about a third of the state's Muslims) say
they will not participate in the classes and are awaiting
approval of a separate curriculum (under consideration by
the B-W Education Ministry) reflecting their religious
views.


5. (SBU) Baden-Wuerttemberg Commissioner for Foreigners
Christian Storr told us Minister-President Erwin Teufel
(CDU/Christian Democratic Party) provided the final push to
reach agreement prior to his retirement April 19. While
numerous German states teach about Islam, Baden-Wuerttemberg
will be the first to have an approved religious curriculum
for Islamic students in public schools (along the lines of
approved curricula for Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish
faiths). Storr noted that female Muslim instructors will
not/not be allowed to wear headscarves while teaching; the
Ministry emphasizes that the curriculum is fully consistent
with German constitutional values (including the rights of
women). Future projects include plans to participate in
regional initiatives to bolster university training for
imams.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


6. (SBU) Support for Islamic religious instruction spans
the political spectrum, from the B-W Central Council for
Muslims to state Education Minister Annette Schavan (an
outspoken cultural conservative). For Muslims, the issue is
one of equal treatment -- offering children of Islamic faith
the same opportunity for religious instruction in public
schools as other students. The state's political leadership
sees the initiative as a means to integrate Muslims into
mainstream German life. With reference to the new program,
M-P Teufel spoke of the need to prevent the emergence of
"parallel societies," while Schavan opined that "religious
instruction belongs in public schools and not in places
about which we know nothing" (i.e., behind closed doors in
Islamic schools and mosques). END COMMENT.

PASI