Calls Grow for Nationwide Islamic Religious Education in German Schools

Germany’s Association for Education and Training (VBE) has called for the introduction of comprehensive Islamic religious education in schools across the country, arguing that Muslim students should be offered the same opportunities as their Christian peers.

“We are committed to ensuring that all believers can talk about their faith within schools and receive relevant information about their religion and other religions,” said VBE Federal Chairman Gerhard Brand in comments to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

He urged political leaders to ensure that schools are equipped with the necessary personnel and materials, and that programs are implemented quickly and expanded over time.

Islamic religious education is currently regulated at the state level, resulting in significant variation. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Islamic religious education is already offered in schools, while in Bavaria, a state-run Islamic studies course is available as an alternative to ethics. However, the Bavarian model does not include cooperation with Islamic religious communities.

According to estimates, around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany, and at least 580,000 were attending school as of 2020. Yet only around 81,000 students are currently enrolled in Islamic religious education programs. Advocates say that expanding access to these classes is essential for integration and for protecting students from extremist influences.

The Turkish Community in Germany also welcomed the initiative but warned of political and structural hurdles. “Islamic religious education is a must — just like Catholic and Protestant religious education,” said the group’s chairman, Gökay Sofuoglu. He called for educational standards to be aligned at a national level, while acknowledging the constitutional limits imposed by Germany’s federal system. “We would need a nationwide Islamic cooperation partner. Unfortunately, that isn’t in sight at the moment,” he said.

Sofuoglu stressed that while the state must remain secular, it has a duty to ensure fair and equal treatment of religious communities. “I don’t know how this could be regulated nationwide,” he added.

Stefan Düll, president of the German Teachers’ Association, told the RND that “religious education in public schools, taught by teachers trained and state-certified in Germany, can provide a counterbalance to fundamentalist attitudes — mediated by the family or by fundamentalist preachers online.”

The debate over Islamic education is not just reserved for Germany. As the Muslim population across Europe grows, both support for and opposition to Islamic teachings have risen in multiple European nations.

In April of this year, Remix News reported how, for the first time, Muslim students had become the largest religious group in Vienna’s schools, underlining the incredible demographic transformation taking place in the Austrian city.

According to data obtained from the office of Bettina Emmerling, the city councilor responsible for education, Muslims now account for 41.2 percent of all students, while Christian students fell to 34.5 percent. The trend is only growing, and is accompanied by rising problems, including violence in schools, anti-Semitism, and contempt for women.

“Islam is changing our society in ways we do not want,” warned Christian Klar, a Viennese school principal, last October. He expressed concern over the “rapid Islamization” of Austrian schools, alongside rising violence and anti-Semitic incidents.

In January, it was reported that approximately 200 schools across the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia now teach Islam as part of their curriculum, following the disclosure of official figures after a parliamentary request by the local Vox party.

The inquiry submitted by Vox Andalusia sparked political debate over the extent to which the curriculum is being catered to immigrants and the scope of influence a rising Islamic community now has on institutions across the region.

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