EXC 2060 C3-9 What is preached in German mosques?

Link
Research Portal
Period
Status
in Process
Funding Source
DFG - Cluster of Excellence
Project Number
EXC 2060/1

  • Description

    Muslims in Germany can pray in over 2,000 mosques, and above all take part in the communal Friday prayer, which is always introduced by a sermon (khutba).

    But what is preached in the mosques? This is something that we know little about. Politicians in particular often call for the sermons to be held in German, which they hope will increase transparency. The idea is that, if the imams preached in German, they would teach an open and “enlightened” Islam. However, it is often forgotten that most Salafist programmes in Germany are already held in German. The language alone is far from being the problem or the key to a “European Islam”. What really matters is the content of the sermons, which many Muslims absorb week after week. Since the teaching of Islam at schools is still far from nationwide, it is precisely the Friday sermons that shape the image of Islam of many Muslims, and that represent along with digital networks the most important means for Muslims in Germany to understand their religion.

    The project is analyzing the Friday sermons in several different mosques (mainly Turkish, Bosnian, Arabic, but also German-speaking) in various federal states, the aim being to create more clarity about the content of Friday sermons in the mosques. The findings will have great relevance above all for the question of the content of imam training in Germany, but also for the socio-political discussion about the role of mosque communities in questions concerning the integration of Muslims in Germany.

  • Persons

  • Dissertations

    Friederike Müller, M.A.

     

     

    Doctoral Thesis

    The transmission and appropriation of Islamic norms. A comparison between Islamic theology and the perspective of practical life. (working title)

    Supervisor
    Prof. Dr. Christel Gärtner
    Doctoral Subject
    Soziologie
    Targeted Doctoral Degree
    Dr. phil.
    Awarded by
    Department 06 – Education and Social Studies

    In my dissertation project, I investigate how Islamic norms are transmitted and appropriated and how the content of what is being transmitted shapes Muslims’ perception of Islam in Germany. I understand the term “perception of Islam” as a particular interpretation of Islam as well as the religious practice associated with it, which may differ due to the diversity within Islam. To answer these questions, I will conduct qualitative interviews with mosque visitors and subsequently analyze them using the reconstructive method of ‘Objective Hermeneutics’ based on Oevermann’s method. I will compare these interviews with my Objective Hermeneutic analysis of Friday sermons from different mosques, which have been selected as representing an important medium for the transmission of (religiously justified) norms for Muslims in Germany. By comparing the results of the interviews and the sermons I will examine the extent to which commonalities can be found between the believers’ conception of norms and the norms transmitted through the sermons.