Turkey Expands Training Program for Imams in Germany

The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) in Cologne announced that starting from 2025, 75 graduates of Islamic theology from Turkey will be trained annually in Germany. These young men are expected to undergo intensive German language courses as well as training programs for integration with German society. According to the German news agency, after completing a two-year training program, they will be required to serve for at least 10 years as imams in mosques affiliated with the Turkish-Islamic Union in Germany. Eyup Kallin, the Secretary General of this union, stated on Friday, May 17, 'We are providing them the opportunity to stay in Germany and strengthen collaboration in local communities.' The imam training program of this union began in 2020, but the goal of the new 'imam training' program is to gradually replace the current religious representatives of the Turkish 'Diyanet' organization in Germany, which currently has over a thousand members. The Diyanet, which is the most important and largest state religious institution in Turkey, serves a predominantly Muslim population. The overseas organization of this institution typically engages in religious activities in countries with a significant number of Turkish citizens or Turkish speakers. Late last year, the German and Turkish governments agreed on a roadmap for 'training new imams' because the imams usually sent for four years by the Diyanet, who receive instructions from Ankara as government employees, struggle to speak German and often have little knowledge of the realities of life in German society. The German government also announced that it would provide financial support for more imam training in Germany. Since 2021, Germany has aimed to reduce the number of Islamic preachers coming from abroad by establishing a state educational center for imams, but this initiative faced opposition in Turkey. The 'Islamic College of Germany' started operating on June 13, 2021, in a city in northwestern Germany, with about 40 religious preachers enrolling in its first classes. The training of these imams in this program began with the help of approximately 12,000 imported books from Egypt. However, many imams and religious preachers were still being sent from Turkey to Germany, which became a controversial topic in German political and social circles. Ultimately, based on an agreement reached in December 2023 between the German and Turkish governments, it was decided that the sending of religious preachers from Turkey to Germany would be halted, and new imams would undergo training in Germany.