STUDYING ISLAM IN GERMAN UNIVERSITIES
STUDYING ISLAM IN GERMAN UNIVERSITIES
Annabelle Boettcher
In Europe istishraq or „Oriental Studies“ as a academic discipline began as an auxiliary science with the framework of Christian theology. It dates back to the University of Tuebingen which after its founding in 1477 opened a Chair of Hebrew in 1521 which also covered Arabic. In 1775 Christian Friedrich Schnurrer became Professor of Oriental Languages in Tuebingen independent of theological studies. Albert Socin held the chair from 1872 to 1889. His Arabic grammar was the basis for Carl Brockelmann's, which used when I studied classical Arabic for the first time at the University of Munich in the south of Germany. Tuebingen University's long-standing tradition of scholarship in the field was recognised when in 1949 the German Research Society assigned its special collection for Semitic and Islamic studies (Middle East) to the university library. This collection was continued since the German unification by the University of Halle-Wittenberg, in eastern Germany.
On German territory first chairs for Oriental philology were founded in the 1830s. In France it was more political and economic ambitions that led to the foundation of the École spéciale des langues orientales in Paris in 1795. In Austria the „Institute for Oriental Studies“ was founded by the Habsburg monarchy. It still exists with institutes for old Semitic philology, archaeology, Arabic and Turkish studies.1 Its director is Professor Ruediger Lohlker, who is specialized in Arabic and Islamic studies.2
In 1845 the „German Oriental Society“ (Deutsche Morgenlaendische Gesellschaft – DMG) with a focus on Asia, Africa and Oceania was founded. It is the oldest professional institute for German Orientalists. Its magazine, the „Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlaendischen Gesellschaft“ (ZDMG), has been published regularly since 1847.3 It has a series of publications in the so-called „Bibliotheca Islamica“ with classical Arabic texts and its „Dictionary of the Classical Arabic language“. Every three years the German Oriental Society convenes an international congress, the „German Congress of the Oriental Studies“, which unites scholars of African, Arabic, Islamic, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian Studies and so forth. The 30th congress was held in the picturesque town of Freiburg in Breisgau4 and organized by the „Institute for Oriental Studies“ at the University of Freiburg.5 I am myself a member of the „Deutsche Morgenlaendische Gesellschaft“ which has is the equivalent to the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) in the United States.
In 1887 an „Institute for Oriental Languages“ was founded in Berlin. Its aim was to teach languages. It was not until the early 20th century that Islamic Studies as an academic discipline become accepted. Carl Heinrich Becker (1876-1933) who was later a minister of culture in Prussia founded a chair for the history and culture of the Near East in 1908 at the Colonial Institute in Hamburg in northern Germany.
Unlike their British and French counterparts, German scholars hardly ever got into contact with Muslims. Their focus was the philological and theological analysis of texts. Interest grew during World War I, when Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire.
Even after the end of World War II philological interests prevailed in Islamic Studies. A change in attitude came with the political changes in the Middle East, the oil boom in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the resurgence of what Europeans call „political Islam“. Until recently Oriental Studies were considered to be among the orchids of the various subjects to be studied in Germany. Compared to the studies of Law, Medicine or History, „Oriental Studies“ appeared as rare and extravagant as an orchid. For this reason it was referred to as an „orchid subject“.
Oriental Studies in Germany
The multitude of dimensions and aspects of „Oriental Studies“ is reflected by the names of the institutes at German universities. You will find such names as Institute for Arabic, Iranian, Turkish and/or Islamic Studies. At the university where I will be teaching this coming semester, the Free University of Berlin, we have the „Institute for Islamic Studies“,6the „Institute for Arabic and Semitic Studies“,7the „Institute for Turkish Studies“8, the „Institute for Iranian Studies“9 and the „Institute for the Politics of the Near East“.10
Each of these institutes has its own profile and priorities. Some institutes might closely cooperate with „Semitic Studies“, „Turkish Studies“ or „Iranian Studies“. At the University of Freiburg in Breisgau in the south of Germany the „Oriental Department“ hosts the „Institute for Ancient Philology“, the „Insti-tute for Judaic Studies“, the „Institute for Islamic Studies“, the „Institute for Chinese Studies“ and the „Institute for Indian Studies“.11
At the University of Berlin for example Arabic studies and Semitic studies are pursued in the „Depart-ment for Semitic and Arabic Studies“.12 Their aim is to study Oriental languages, religion and culture throughout history in different geographic settings. The University of Tuebingen, for instance, focuses on Islamic political and intellectual history, as well as Islamic theology and philosophy, especially with regard to the Shi‘a. 13 At the University of Halle-Wittenberg in eastern Germany, the focus is on the history of ideas and politics. 14
Mapping Islamic Studies in Germany
Islamic Studies comprises a vast array of topics such as Islamic theology (kalâm), Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and its methodology (usûl al-fiqh), Qur’an and Qur’anic studies (tafsîr), Islamic history, Islamic philosophy, literature, art, architecture and so forth. There is also a growing interest in Germany with regards to the influence and implementation of Islam in contemporary politics and economics, which is closely connected to the political, economic and theological developments in the Islamic world. The events of 11 September and the „war on terrorism“ have caused a boom in Islamic Studies. Political, economic and religious institutions as well as the media realized that Islam was a major factor in international politics and that many global players were in fact Muslims. In Germany institutions as well as the general public realized that Islamic cultures were part of the German social fabric. Germany suddenly discovered its 3,5 million Muslims, their mosques, their Qur’anic schools, their rights, their needs and their aspirations. It cannot be denied that Islam was perceived as a threat but at the same time there was a curiosity to discover this unknown culture, which I consider one of the few positive developments.
This led to a growing demand for expertise in various field linked to Islam. Strange enough many of those seeking expertise preferred to look for it among non-Muslim so-called experts instead of turning to the Muslim experts. Institutions and individuals engaged in the study of Islam felt this demand on two levels. They were asked to provide analysis on a German, European and international level and at the same time there was a growth in students wishing to gain this expertise through the study of Islamic cultures. Currently the demand varies according to the profile of the institute. Both universities in Berlin, the Free University and the Humboldt-University usually have a high number of students, which is also due to the superb location of the city, its relatively low rents and its job market.
Institutes offering Islamic Studies are usually small when it comes to the number of the hired staff. This limits the scope of subjects taught. The introduction into Qur’an and Sunna, Islamic history, law and literature should be taught at any institute, which is not always the case. Arabic texts including reli-gious texts are usually taught in „Institutes for Islamic Studies“ as well as „Institutes for Arabic Studies“. History, religion, literature and languages of Turkish cultures are taught at an „Institute for Turkish Studies“ or an „Institute for Ottoman Studies“ or an „Institute for Central Asian Studies“. The history, religion, literature and language of Islamic Persia is usually part of the „Islamic Studies“ curri-culum, while in Germany „Iranian Studies“ usually concentrates more on the pre-Islamic Persia. There are some exceptions such as the University of Bamberg and to some degree also the Free University of Berlin.
Islamic societies in South and Southeast Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa attract less interest in Germany. In the regional studies field, German research on Iran, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia is still a latecomer in global terms. That has to do with the fact that German scholars have traditionally con-centrated on the Middle East, relegating the rest of the Islamic world to the 'periphery'. One notable ex-ception is the concentration on "Islam in Africa" at the University of Bayreuth, which from the outset has taken an interdisciplinary approach to research and teaching in the field of African studies.15 There are also institutes at the Humboldt-University in Berlin, namely the „Institute for the Sciences of Asia and Africa“16, the „Institute for Islamic Studies of Non-Arab Regions“17 and the „Department for Archaeology and the Cultural History of Northern Africa“.18 Another example is the University in Bochum with its „Institute of Islamic Studies“.19
Research in these fields are conducted after the MA on a doctoral or post-doctoral level at the „Zentrum Moderner Orient“, the „Centre for Modern Orient“ located outside of Berlin in Nikolassee.20 This lack of balanced approach in the study of Islamic societies is due to restricted financial resources. It obliges the universities to focus on the Arabic Islamic „centre“ such as the area of the Near and Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey etc., while what Europe wrongly considers the „periphery“ are underrepresented.
Islamic Studies institutes are usually equipped with 2-4 professor and 2-4 assistants and languages teachers. The number of students varies between 100 and 300. According to the Hochschulrektoren-konferenz (HRK) (Standing Conference of German University Presidents), there are now professor-ships of Islamic studies at the universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth, at the Free University and the Humboldt University in Berlin, in Bonn, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Freiburg, Giessen, Halle-Wittenberg, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Jena, Cologne, Mainz, Muenster and Tuebingen.
An innovation in the field of Islamic studies is the training of teachers of Islam in state schools. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia for example has 260,000 Muslims pupils. The province’s government regards religious studies as a responsibility of public education and it is therefore offered Islamic stu-dies classes in its secondary schools. The instruction is part of the syllabus for native language classes in Turkish, Arabic or Bosnian or as a separate subject or it is presented as "Islamic studies in German". These classes are not about preaching faith, but to probe German and European reality. Islam as a faith is taught in the mosques. Classes in religion at German schools must adhere unconditionally to certain principles enshrined in the German Constitution. Foremost among these principles are equal rights for men and women and recognition of a secular judicial system that is independent of state and religion.
Teacher training has been offered at the University of Muenster since 2004 by Professor Muhammad Kalisch, who is a trained jurist, a specialist in Islam, a German national and a devout Muslim.21 At the University of Frankfurt am Main, Professor Mehmet Emin Koektasch holds the chair of 'Islamic Religion' endowed by the Turkish Department of Religion (Diyanet).
Studying Islamic Studies in Germany
In Germany, research and teaching are unified. Islamic studies can be pursued as a major or minor at any of the above-mentioned universities. A secondary school leaving certificate qualifying students for university entrance in their native country is also sufficient admission to higher education in Germany. Also necessary is an adequate command of German, which can be certified abroad, by passing the so-called 'TestDaF' examination in German as a foreign language. All of Germany's universities are cur-rently switching to the degree system of a bachelor's/Master's degree on the Anglo-American model.
In order to have the access to Islamic cultures students have to learn the relevant languages. In the ideal case they should already master English and French because much of the research is published mainly in these languages. Some faculties might even require Latin. There are exceptions, but those who do not have a proficient level in these languages, need to improve them. German students are very mobile and tend to study abroad at universities in France, England or the United States for a semester or two.
Naturally the most important language in Islamic Studies is Arabic, which is mandatory for anybody wishing to continue with Islamic Studies. Since the Arabic language including its regional dialects is extremely complex, it generally takes a minimum of two years to get a minimum proficiency. Studying Arabic language has become quite popular and demand for introductory courses is high. But once stu-dents discover how much time and effort has to be invested, they are usually less enthusiastic. Courses for Arabic languages are offered in various universities all over Germany such as Bamberg, Bayreuth, Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Erfurt, Erlangen-Nuernberg, Freiburg, Goettingen, Halle-Wittenberg, Ham-burg, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Koeln, Leipzig, Muenster, Tuebingen and Wuerzburg. The quality of these language studies vary and usually depend on the teachers. In general students learn the alphabet, reading, grammar and the vocabulary of modern standard Arabic for 4-6 hours per week at the univer-sity. At the Free University of Berlin two teachers, one from the „Institute for Islamic Studies“ and one from the „Institute for Arabic and Semitic Studies“ cooperate to provide the courses for the first two years of Arabic language teaching. Students are free to add additional exercise hours in the language laboratory of the university or on internet. The „Institute for Islamic Studies“ offers an e-learning cour-se in Arabic languages. During these four semesters students read and translate Arabic texts. In the course of the first year they are introduced to simple texts under the guidance of a professor, an assistant or a language teacher. It is also recommended to take conversation classes, some of which are for modern standard Arabic others for Egyptian or Palestinian-Syrian dialect.
Students, who study Islamic Studies as a main subject, have to learn an additional language spoken in the Islamic world such as Farsi, Dari, Turkish, Urdu, Indonesian or Hebrew. Since the language requirements are considerable, much of the time in Islamic Studies has to be invested into studying languages, which are not taught in the German high school system. Those students who come from an Arabic, Turkish, Persian or Afghan background need to invest the same amount of time to invest into the other languages. Because of these requirements, a regular student in Islamic Studies will normally not be able to finish his studies after 8 to 10 semesters, which is equivalent to 4-5 years.
In addition students are also expected to study abroad in an Arabic country, Turkey or Iran to continue their language training. Through the German Academic Exchange Service, the DAAD, students from German universities are able to apply for language training programs in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. I myself was lucky enough to be part of such a student exchange program with Syria in 1988/89. Together with ten other students I studied one year at the „Ma‘had li-Dirâsât al-Lugha al-‘Arabiyya li-l-Ajânib“ in Damascus and later I joined the Faculty of Shari’a Law, the „Kulliyat al-Shari‘a“ at the University in Damascus as a guest student. It was a priviledge for me to attend the lessons of such well-known scholars such as Dr. Sa‘îd Ramadân al-Bûtî, Dr. Wahba al-Zuhaîlî and his brother Muhammad al-Zuhaîlî.
Nowadays students are very creative and find their own inroads into the Islamic world. Some studies in Yemen or Turkey, others went to Tehran or Isaac in Iran, while some of our Muslim students accept scholarships to study at Saudi universities.
Professional Careers
The time consuming investment into Islamic Studies is rewarded by good opportunities on the job market. Students with good proficiency of at least Arabic and an M.A. in Islamic Studies combined with Law, Economics or Political Science, usually have good opportunities on the job market. Graduates start a career in journalism, publishing, international organizations, NGOs, diplomatic service, police and security service or tourism.
The German Institute for Middle East studies
The „German Institute for Middle East Studies“ (Deutsches Orient-Institut - DOI) is a research centre and think tank in Hamburg. It was founded in 1960 by the Near and Middle East Association, which is an association of merchants. The DOI's committee and Board of Trustees include leading figures from academia, politics, commerce and industry, and administration. The institute is financed on a 50-50 basis by the State of Hamburg and the German Foreign Office. In addition, it obtains funds for specific projects from institutions that promote academic research activities. The institute's l research areas covers political and social developments in the Middle East, with special attention to democratisation processes; the emergence and growth of regional and local conflicts; religious and ethnic factors as an element of political and social transformation; the state and the private business sector in the develop-ment process; approaches to and organisation of political and economic cooperation in those regions; political and economic relations between the Middle East and the EU; emergence of and changes in political values; and human rights.
ANNEX:
Research centres and university departments in Germany:
University of Bamberg
Islamic Art and Archaeology
Chair of Turkish Language, History and Culture
Chair of Iranian Language, History and Culture
University of Bayreuth
Arabic Studies
Islamic Studies
African Studies
Chair of African History
Literature in African Languages
Free University of Berlin
Institute of Islamic Studies
Department of Semitic and Arabic Studies
Politics of the Near East
Institute of Judaic Studies
Institute of Iranian Studies
Institute of Turkish Studies
Institute of Ancient Oriental Studies
Humboldt-University of Berlin
Institute of Asian- and African Studies
Islamic Studies of the Non-Arab Region
Department of Archaeology and Cultural History of Northern Africa
University of Bochum
Department of Oriental and Islamic Studies
University of Bonn
Oriental Department
Department of Oriental Languages
Department of Oriental History of Art
Department of Egyptology
Department of Languages and Culture of Central Asia
University of Erfurt
Chair of Islamic Studies
University of Erlangen
Institute of Political Science with a focus on the modern Middle East
Institute of Oriental Philology
Central Institute of Regional Studies, Middle East
University of Essen
Centre of Turkish Studies
University of Frankfurt
Oriental Department
University of Freiburg
Oriental Department
University of Giessen
Institute of Oriental Studies
University of Goettingen
Department of Arabic Studies
Department of Iranian Studies
Department of Turkish and Central Asian Studies
Department of Egyptology & Coptology
University of Halle-Wittenberg
Centre of Oriental Sciences
Institute of Oriental Studies
Institute of Oriental Archaeology and Art
Combined library catalogue, Tuebingen-Halle Middle East collection
University of Hamburg
Department of the History and Culture of the Middle East
Institute of African and Ethiopian Studies
University of Heidelberg
Department of Languages and Cultures of the Middle East
South Asian Institute
University of Jena
Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Middle East
University of Kiel
Institute of Oriental Studies
University of Cologne
Oriental Department
Martin-Buber Institute of Judaic Studies
Institute of African Studies
Heinrich-Barth-Institute of Archaeology and History of Africa
University of Leipzig
Oriental Institute
Institute of Ancient Oriental Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of African Studies
Islam-Catalogue
University of Mainz
Department of Oriental Science
Historic Department, Byzantine Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of Anthropology and African-Studies
Arabic Studies
Turkish
University of Marburg
Semitic Studies
University of Munich
Institute of Indian and Iranian Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of Assyriology and Hethitic Studies
Institute of Semitic Studies
Institute of History and Culture of the Near East and Turkish Studies
Historic Department, Jewish History
Institute of Asian Archaeology
Institute of Anthropology and African Studies
University of Muenster
Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies
Department of Byzantine Studies
Institute of Egyptology and Coptology
Institute of Ancient Oriental Philology
University of Tuebingen
Oriental Department
1 http://www.univie.ac.at/orientalistik/
2 For his biography cf. http://www.univie.ac.at/orientalistik/?page=personal&prof=Lohlker
3 See http://www.dmg-web.de/
4 See http://www.dot2007.de/index2.php?art=30&sprache=2
5 See http://www.orient.uni-freiburg.de/
6 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/islamwiss/
7 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/semiarab/
8 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/gesch-kultur/orient/tur.html
9 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/gesch-kultur/orient/ira.html
10 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/pol-soz/pol/international/asorient.html
11 For Islamic Studies refer to http://www.orient.uni-freiburg.de/islam
12 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/semiarab/
13 See: http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/orientsem/
14 See: http://www.orientphil.uni-halle.de/
15 See: http://www.uni-bayreuth.de/departments/neueste/afrika.htm
16 At the „Institute the Sciences of Asia and Africa“, cf.: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/asaf/iaaw/
17 See: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/asaf/islam/Al-Fatiha.htm
18 See: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/nilus/index.html
19 See: http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/orient/
20 See: http://www.zmo.de
21 See: http://www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIslam/
1
Lecture Islamic Studies Germany
Berlin, February 25, 2008
Annabelle Boettcher
In Europe istishraq or „Oriental Studies“ as a academic discipline began as an auxiliary science with the framework of Christian theology. It dates back to the University of Tuebingen which after its founding in 1477 opened a Chair of Hebrew in 1521 which also covered Arabic. In 1775 Christian Friedrich Schnurrer became Professor of Oriental Languages in Tuebingen independent of theological studies. Albert Socin held the chair from 1872 to 1889. His Arabic grammar was the basis for Carl Brockelmann's, which used when I studied classical Arabic for the first time at the University of Munich in the south of Germany. Tuebingen University's long-standing tradition of scholarship in the field was recognised when in 1949 the German Research Society assigned its special collection for Semitic and Islamic studies (Middle East) to the university library. This collection was continued since the German unification by the University of Halle-Wittenberg, in eastern Germany.
On German territory first chairs for Oriental philology were founded in the 1830s. In France it was more political and economic ambitions that led to the foundation of the École spéciale des langues orientales in Paris in 1795. In Austria the „Institute for Oriental Studies“ was founded by the Habsburg monarchy. It still exists with institutes for old Semitic philology, archaeology, Arabic and Turkish studies.1 Its director is Professor Ruediger Lohlker, who is specialized in Arabic and Islamic studies.2
In 1845 the „German Oriental Society“ (Deutsche Morgenlaendische Gesellschaft – DMG) with a focus on Asia, Africa and Oceania was founded. It is the oldest professional institute for German Orientalists. Its magazine, the „Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlaendischen Gesellschaft“ (ZDMG), has been published regularly since 1847.3 It has a series of publications in the so-called „Bibliotheca Islamica“ with classical Arabic texts and its „Dictionary of the Classical Arabic language“. Every three years the German Oriental Society convenes an international congress, the „German Congress of the Oriental Studies“, which unites scholars of African, Arabic, Islamic, Indian, Japanese, Chinese, Southeast Asian Studies and so forth. The 30th congress was held in the picturesque town of Freiburg in Breisgau4 and organized by the „Institute for Oriental Studies“ at the University of Freiburg.5 I am myself a member of the „Deutsche Morgenlaendische Gesellschaft“ which has is the equivalent to the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA) in the United States.
In 1887 an „Institute for Oriental Languages“ was founded in Berlin. Its aim was to teach languages. It was not until the early 20th century that Islamic Studies as an academic discipline become accepted. Carl Heinrich Becker (1876-1933) who was later a minister of culture in Prussia founded a chair for the history and culture of the Near East in 1908 at the Colonial Institute in Hamburg in northern Germany.
Unlike their British and French counterparts, German scholars hardly ever got into contact with Muslims. Their focus was the philological and theological analysis of texts. Interest grew during World War I, when Germany was an ally of the Ottoman Empire.
Even after the end of World War II philological interests prevailed in Islamic Studies. A change in attitude came with the political changes in the Middle East, the oil boom in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the resurgence of what Europeans call „political Islam“. Until recently Oriental Studies were considered to be among the orchids of the various subjects to be studied in Germany. Compared to the studies of Law, Medicine or History, „Oriental Studies“ appeared as rare and extravagant as an orchid. For this reason it was referred to as an „orchid subject“.
Oriental Studies in Germany
The multitude of dimensions and aspects of „Oriental Studies“ is reflected by the names of the institutes at German universities. You will find such names as Institute for Arabic, Iranian, Turkish and/or Islamic Studies. At the university where I will be teaching this coming semester, the Free University of Berlin, we have the „Institute for Islamic Studies“,6the „Institute for Arabic and Semitic Studies“,7the „Institute for Turkish Studies“8, the „Institute for Iranian Studies“9 and the „Institute for the Politics of the Near East“.10
Each of these institutes has its own profile and priorities. Some institutes might closely cooperate with „Semitic Studies“, „Turkish Studies“ or „Iranian Studies“. At the University of Freiburg in Breisgau in the south of Germany the „Oriental Department“ hosts the „Institute for Ancient Philology“, the „Insti-tute for Judaic Studies“, the „Institute for Islamic Studies“, the „Institute for Chinese Studies“ and the „Institute for Indian Studies“.11
At the University of Berlin for example Arabic studies and Semitic studies are pursued in the „Depart-ment for Semitic and Arabic Studies“.12 Their aim is to study Oriental languages, religion and culture throughout history in different geographic settings. The University of Tuebingen, for instance, focuses on Islamic political and intellectual history, as well as Islamic theology and philosophy, especially with regard to the Shi‘a. 13 At the University of Halle-Wittenberg in eastern Germany, the focus is on the history of ideas and politics. 14
Mapping Islamic Studies in Germany
Islamic Studies comprises a vast array of topics such as Islamic theology (kalâm), Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh) and its methodology (usûl al-fiqh), Qur’an and Qur’anic studies (tafsîr), Islamic history, Islamic philosophy, literature, art, architecture and so forth. There is also a growing interest in Germany with regards to the influence and implementation of Islam in contemporary politics and economics, which is closely connected to the political, economic and theological developments in the Islamic world. The events of 11 September and the „war on terrorism“ have caused a boom in Islamic Studies. Political, economic and religious institutions as well as the media realized that Islam was a major factor in international politics and that many global players were in fact Muslims. In Germany institutions as well as the general public realized that Islamic cultures were part of the German social fabric. Germany suddenly discovered its 3,5 million Muslims, their mosques, their Qur’anic schools, their rights, their needs and their aspirations. It cannot be denied that Islam was perceived as a threat but at the same time there was a curiosity to discover this unknown culture, which I consider one of the few positive developments.
This led to a growing demand for expertise in various field linked to Islam. Strange enough many of those seeking expertise preferred to look for it among non-Muslim so-called experts instead of turning to the Muslim experts. Institutions and individuals engaged in the study of Islam felt this demand on two levels. They were asked to provide analysis on a German, European and international level and at the same time there was a growth in students wishing to gain this expertise through the study of Islamic cultures. Currently the demand varies according to the profile of the institute. Both universities in Berlin, the Free University and the Humboldt-University usually have a high number of students, which is also due to the superb location of the city, its relatively low rents and its job market.
Institutes offering Islamic Studies are usually small when it comes to the number of the hired staff. This limits the scope of subjects taught. The introduction into Qur’an and Sunna, Islamic history, law and literature should be taught at any institute, which is not always the case. Arabic texts including reli-gious texts are usually taught in „Institutes for Islamic Studies“ as well as „Institutes for Arabic Studies“. History, religion, literature and languages of Turkish cultures are taught at an „Institute for Turkish Studies“ or an „Institute for Ottoman Studies“ or an „Institute for Central Asian Studies“. The history, religion, literature and language of Islamic Persia is usually part of the „Islamic Studies“ curri-culum, while in Germany „Iranian Studies“ usually concentrates more on the pre-Islamic Persia. There are some exceptions such as the University of Bamberg and to some degree also the Free University of Berlin.
Islamic societies in South and Southeast Asia or Sub-Saharan Africa attract less interest in Germany. In the regional studies field, German research on Iran, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia is still a latecomer in global terms. That has to do with the fact that German scholars have traditionally con-centrated on the Middle East, relegating the rest of the Islamic world to the 'periphery'. One notable ex-ception is the concentration on "Islam in Africa" at the University of Bayreuth, which from the outset has taken an interdisciplinary approach to research and teaching in the field of African studies.15 There are also institutes at the Humboldt-University in Berlin, namely the „Institute for the Sciences of Asia and Africa“16, the „Institute for Islamic Studies of Non-Arab Regions“17 and the „Department for Archaeology and the Cultural History of Northern Africa“.18 Another example is the University in Bochum with its „Institute of Islamic Studies“.19
Research in these fields are conducted after the MA on a doctoral or post-doctoral level at the „Zentrum Moderner Orient“, the „Centre for Modern Orient“ located outside of Berlin in Nikolassee.20 This lack of balanced approach in the study of Islamic societies is due to restricted financial resources. It obliges the universities to focus on the Arabic Islamic „centre“ such as the area of the Near and Middle East, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey etc., while what Europe wrongly considers the „periphery“ are underrepresented.
Islamic Studies institutes are usually equipped with 2-4 professor and 2-4 assistants and languages teachers. The number of students varies between 100 and 300. According to the Hochschulrektoren-konferenz (HRK) (Standing Conference of German University Presidents), there are now professor-ships of Islamic studies at the universities of Bamberg and Bayreuth, at the Free University and the Humboldt University in Berlin, in Bonn, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Frankfurt-am-Main, Freiburg, Giessen, Halle-Wittenberg, Hamburg, Heidelberg, Jena, Cologne, Mainz, Muenster and Tuebingen.
An innovation in the field of Islamic studies is the training of teachers of Islam in state schools. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia for example has 260,000 Muslims pupils. The province’s government regards religious studies as a responsibility of public education and it is therefore offered Islamic stu-dies classes in its secondary schools. The instruction is part of the syllabus for native language classes in Turkish, Arabic or Bosnian or as a separate subject or it is presented as "Islamic studies in German". These classes are not about preaching faith, but to probe German and European reality. Islam as a faith is taught in the mosques. Classes in religion at German schools must adhere unconditionally to certain principles enshrined in the German Constitution. Foremost among these principles are equal rights for men and women and recognition of a secular judicial system that is independent of state and religion.
Teacher training has been offered at the University of Muenster since 2004 by Professor Muhammad Kalisch, who is a trained jurist, a specialist in Islam, a German national and a devout Muslim.21 At the University of Frankfurt am Main, Professor Mehmet Emin Koektasch holds the chair of 'Islamic Religion' endowed by the Turkish Department of Religion (Diyanet).
Studying Islamic Studies in Germany
In Germany, research and teaching are unified. Islamic studies can be pursued as a major or minor at any of the above-mentioned universities. A secondary school leaving certificate qualifying students for university entrance in their native country is also sufficient admission to higher education in Germany. Also necessary is an adequate command of German, which can be certified abroad, by passing the so-called 'TestDaF' examination in German as a foreign language. All of Germany's universities are cur-rently switching to the degree system of a bachelor's/Master's degree on the Anglo-American model.
In order to have the access to Islamic cultures students have to learn the relevant languages. In the ideal case they should already master English and French because much of the research is published mainly in these languages. Some faculties might even require Latin. There are exceptions, but those who do not have a proficient level in these languages, need to improve them. German students are very mobile and tend to study abroad at universities in France, England or the United States for a semester or two.
Naturally the most important language in Islamic Studies is Arabic, which is mandatory for anybody wishing to continue with Islamic Studies. Since the Arabic language including its regional dialects is extremely complex, it generally takes a minimum of two years to get a minimum proficiency. Studying Arabic language has become quite popular and demand for introductory courses is high. But once stu-dents discover how much time and effort has to be invested, they are usually less enthusiastic. Courses for Arabic languages are offered in various universities all over Germany such as Bamberg, Bayreuth, Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Erfurt, Erlangen-Nuernberg, Freiburg, Goettingen, Halle-Wittenberg, Ham-burg, Heidelberg, Jena, Kiel, Koeln, Leipzig, Muenster, Tuebingen and Wuerzburg. The quality of these language studies vary and usually depend on the teachers. In general students learn the alphabet, reading, grammar and the vocabulary of modern standard Arabic for 4-6 hours per week at the univer-sity. At the Free University of Berlin two teachers, one from the „Institute for Islamic Studies“ and one from the „Institute for Arabic and Semitic Studies“ cooperate to provide the courses for the first two years of Arabic language teaching. Students are free to add additional exercise hours in the language laboratory of the university or on internet. The „Institute for Islamic Studies“ offers an e-learning cour-se in Arabic languages. During these four semesters students read and translate Arabic texts. In the course of the first year they are introduced to simple texts under the guidance of a professor, an assistant or a language teacher. It is also recommended to take conversation classes, some of which are for modern standard Arabic others for Egyptian or Palestinian-Syrian dialect.
Students, who study Islamic Studies as a main subject, have to learn an additional language spoken in the Islamic world such as Farsi, Dari, Turkish, Urdu, Indonesian or Hebrew. Since the language requirements are considerable, much of the time in Islamic Studies has to be invested into studying languages, which are not taught in the German high school system. Those students who come from an Arabic, Turkish, Persian or Afghan background need to invest the same amount of time to invest into the other languages. Because of these requirements, a regular student in Islamic Studies will normally not be able to finish his studies after 8 to 10 semesters, which is equivalent to 4-5 years.
In addition students are also expected to study abroad in an Arabic country, Turkey or Iran to continue their language training. Through the German Academic Exchange Service, the DAAD, students from German universities are able to apply for language training programs in Egypt, Syria and Tunisia. I myself was lucky enough to be part of such a student exchange program with Syria in 1988/89. Together with ten other students I studied one year at the „Ma‘had li-Dirâsât al-Lugha al-‘Arabiyya li-l-Ajânib“ in Damascus and later I joined the Faculty of Shari’a Law, the „Kulliyat al-Shari‘a“ at the University in Damascus as a guest student. It was a priviledge for me to attend the lessons of such well-known scholars such as Dr. Sa‘îd Ramadân al-Bûtî, Dr. Wahba al-Zuhaîlî and his brother Muhammad al-Zuhaîlî.
Nowadays students are very creative and find their own inroads into the Islamic world. Some studies in Yemen or Turkey, others went to Tehran or Isaac in Iran, while some of our Muslim students accept scholarships to study at Saudi universities.
Professional Careers
The time consuming investment into Islamic Studies is rewarded by good opportunities on the job market. Students with good proficiency of at least Arabic and an M.A. in Islamic Studies combined with Law, Economics or Political Science, usually have good opportunities on the job market. Graduates start a career in journalism, publishing, international organizations, NGOs, diplomatic service, police and security service or tourism.
The German Institute for Middle East studies
The „German Institute for Middle East Studies“ (Deutsches Orient-Institut - DOI) is a research centre and think tank in Hamburg. It was founded in 1960 by the Near and Middle East Association, which is an association of merchants. The DOI's committee and Board of Trustees include leading figures from academia, politics, commerce and industry, and administration. The institute is financed on a 50-50 basis by the State of Hamburg and the German Foreign Office. In addition, it obtains funds for specific projects from institutions that promote academic research activities. The institute's l research areas covers political and social developments in the Middle East, with special attention to democratisation processes; the emergence and growth of regional and local conflicts; religious and ethnic factors as an element of political and social transformation; the state and the private business sector in the develop-ment process; approaches to and organisation of political and economic cooperation in those regions; political and economic relations between the Middle East and the EU; emergence of and changes in political values; and human rights.
ANNEX:
Research centres and university departments in Germany:
University of Bamberg
Islamic Art and Archaeology
Chair of Turkish Language, History and Culture
Chair of Iranian Language, History and Culture
University of Bayreuth
Arabic Studies
Islamic Studies
African Studies
Chair of African History
Literature in African Languages
Free University of Berlin
Institute of Islamic Studies
Department of Semitic and Arabic Studies
Politics of the Near East
Institute of Judaic Studies
Institute of Iranian Studies
Institute of Turkish Studies
Institute of Ancient Oriental Studies
Humboldt-University of Berlin
Institute of Asian- and African Studies
Islamic Studies of the Non-Arab Region
Department of Archaeology and Cultural History of Northern Africa
University of Bochum
Department of Oriental and Islamic Studies
University of Bonn
Oriental Department
Department of Oriental Languages
Department of Oriental History of Art
Department of Egyptology
Department of Languages and Culture of Central Asia
University of Erfurt
Chair of Islamic Studies
University of Erlangen
Institute of Political Science with a focus on the modern Middle East
Institute of Oriental Philology
Central Institute of Regional Studies, Middle East
University of Essen
Centre of Turkish Studies
University of Frankfurt
Oriental Department
University of Freiburg
Oriental Department
University of Giessen
Institute of Oriental Studies
University of Goettingen
Department of Arabic Studies
Department of Iranian Studies
Department of Turkish and Central Asian Studies
Department of Egyptology & Coptology
University of Halle-Wittenberg
Centre of Oriental Sciences
Institute of Oriental Studies
Institute of Oriental Archaeology and Art
Combined library catalogue, Tuebingen-Halle Middle East collection
University of Hamburg
Department of the History and Culture of the Middle East
Institute of African and Ethiopian Studies
University of Heidelberg
Department of Languages and Cultures of the Middle East
South Asian Institute
University of Jena
Institute of Languages and Cultures of the Middle East
University of Kiel
Institute of Oriental Studies
University of Cologne
Oriental Department
Martin-Buber Institute of Judaic Studies
Institute of African Studies
Heinrich-Barth-Institute of Archaeology and History of Africa
University of Leipzig
Oriental Institute
Institute of Ancient Oriental Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of African Studies
Islam-Catalogue
University of Mainz
Department of Oriental Science
Historic Department, Byzantine Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of Anthropology and African-Studies
Arabic Studies
Turkish
University of Marburg
Semitic Studies
University of Munich
Institute of Indian and Iranian Studies
Institute of Egyptology
Institute of Assyriology and Hethitic Studies
Institute of Semitic Studies
Institute of History and Culture of the Near East and Turkish Studies
Historic Department, Jewish History
Institute of Asian Archaeology
Institute of Anthropology and African Studies
University of Muenster
Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies
Department of Byzantine Studies
Institute of Egyptology and Coptology
Institute of Ancient Oriental Philology
University of Tuebingen
Oriental Department
1 http://www.univie.ac.at/orientalistik/
2 For his biography cf. http://www.univie.ac.at/orientalistik/?page=personal&prof=Lohlker
3 See http://www.dmg-web.de/
4 See http://www.dot2007.de/index2.php?art=30&sprache=2
5 See http://www.orient.uni-freiburg.de/
6 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/islamwiss/
7 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/semiarab/
8 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/gesch-kultur/orient/tur.html
9 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/gesch-kultur/orient/ira.html
10 See: http://www.fu-berlin.de/einrichtungen/fachbereiche/pol-soz/pol/international/asorient.html
11 For Islamic Studies refer to http://www.orient.uni-freiburg.de/islam
12 See: http://www.geschkult.fu-berlin.de/e/semiarab/
13 See: http://www.uni-tuebingen.de/orientsem/
14 See: http://www.orientphil.uni-halle.de/
15 See: http://www.uni-bayreuth.de/departments/neueste/afrika.htm
16 At the „Institute the Sciences of Asia and Africa“, cf.: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/asaf/iaaw/
17 See: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/asaf/islam/Al-Fatiha.htm
18 See: http://www2.hu-berlin.de/nilus/index.html
19 See: http://www.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/orient/
20 See: http://www.zmo.de
21 See: http://www.uni-muenster.de/ArabistikIslam/
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Lecture Islamic Studies Germany
Berlin, February 25, 2008
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