German Primary Schoolers Get Textbook on Islam

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"My Book About Islam" is the first schoolbook on the Muslim faith to be approved for young children in Germany. The authors hope it will help foster understanding by dispelling myths about the followers of the Koran.


"My Book About Islam" is intended for Muslim children, who come from different ethnic backgrounds and offers different interpretations of the Islamic faith, according to Evelin Lubig-Fohsel, one of the textbook's authors.

"We're going on the assumption that there is no such thing as the absolute correct Islam and believe that this book can be the basis for various strands of the faith," she said.

The book made its appearance this past week at the opening of the annual "Didacta" educational book fair in the northern city of Hanover. It has also been introduced to primary schools in two German states, Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia, which has a large Muslim minority.

In an educational system where religious instruction about Christianity is a standard part of the state-run school curriculum, the move is intended to promote greater tolerance and understanding of other faiths, according to the Munich publishers of the textbook, Oldenbourg.

"Young children can learn about and respect other world religions," the publishers said in a statement.

Fostering religious identity

"The point of the book is to foster the religious identity of Muslim children in a country that is predominantly Christian so they don't wind up being manipulated by the media, and not just the media, but perhaps even by their own mosque or community," said one of the book's authors, primary school teacher Gül Solgun-Kaps.

Since the majority of Muslims in Europe practice the Sunni as opposed to the Shiite faith, which differ in their beliefs as to the rightful heirs of the prophet Mohammed, the textbook emphasizes Sunni Islam and discusses differences in national practices, but looks for common ground between the two branches.

An appreciation of the different strains within a religion also helps to further dialogue with other faiths, such as Christianity and Judaism, according to Solgun-Kaps.

"It's important for kids to know the core message of other religious faiths," she said, adding that an understanding of such growing diversity in Germany fosters peaceful co-existence not just in school, but in life too.

A Bosnian child for instance would have the chance to talk about how Ramadan is celebrated in his country, which is different from the fasting rituals of a Pakistani or Turkish family.

Gender roles discussed

The role of religion in daily life is a thread that runs through the book. Gender roles are also addressed and here the book is modern in its outlook. A young boy is just as likely to set the dinner table as his sister, Muslim women are depicted without head coverings and even men are laboring over the stove preparing family meals.

One of the book's aims is to show children the compatibility of Islam with democratic and egalitarian values, since Muslim pupils and their parents, as well as Christians or secular Germans, often perceive the religion as being the antithesis of modernity.

"We want to reduce the fear factor about Islam with this book, and show that Muslims and non-Muslims can live peacefully side by side," said Lubig Fohsel.
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http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4017296,00.html
 
:sl:

This is such pretty news. Yes, pretty.

I'd like to check that book out. We should have something like this in Australia. In the public school system, Islamic classes are split between nationalities. That is probably because the voluntary teachers cannot speak english or any language besides their native languages.

Nice read :) Thanks P.

:w:
 
I wonder if all Muslims will agree with the seemingly liberal and modern interpretation of Islam?
 
I think that this is all about creating the liberal and deutsch islam in the german society.
 
Aaron85 said:
I think that this is all about creating the liberal and deutsch islam in the german society.
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Can't judge that without seeing the book. I think this whole (insert nationality) Islam talk is a prime example of how Europeans misunderstand the nature of Islam vs say Christianity.
 
sevgi said:
What is 'the liberal and [D]eutsch slam'?
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Obeying the german constitution, rejecting political islamism which tells muslims in Berlin to fight in Kashmir or Iraq, not treating all non believers as enemies, you know , all these kind of nice stuff.
 
Ahaha, I love the last choice... I think I know people who would honestly select it.:><:

I agree with the idea of teaching kids about different beliefs out there, Islam being one of them, but...
"offers different interpretations of the Islamic faith"
That part I don't agree with.

I think they should stick to the very basics of what islam is all about, especially seeing as the target audience of the book is kids anyway, and too much detail would confuse them. While sticking to the basics, they should also teach what reputable scholars have unanimously agreed upon.

For example, "A young boy is just as likely to set the dinner table as his sister, Muslim women are depicted without head coverings and even men are laboring over the stove preparing family meals.". I totally agree with the first and last example, but not the middle one.

And anyway, whose "interpretations" will they teach? You can get people praying to jelly beans that call themselves muslims. So yeah, if the different interpretations thing goes too far, it could be a problem. All in all though, I think it's a great idea, and I applaud the German governement for their initiative. Perhaps other European countries will follow suit?
 
Aaron85 said:
Obeying the german constitution, rejecting political islamism which tells muslims in Berlin to fight in Kashmir or Iraq, not treating all non believers as enemies, you know , all these kind of nice stuff.
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1. All muslims should be doing that. nothing liberal or german about that
2. As much as i disagree with Islamist thought, the second part has nothing to do with Islamism.
3. Nothing liberal or german about that as well.
 
crayon said:
Ahaha, I love the last choice... I think I know people who would honestly select it.:><:

I agree with the idea of teaching kids about different beliefs out there, Islam being one of them, but...
"offers different interpretations of the Islamic faith"
That part I don't agree with.

I think they should stick to the very basics of what islam is all about, especially seeing as the target audience of the book is kids anyway, and too much detail would confuse them. While sticking to the basics, they should also teach what reputable scholars have unanimously agreed upon.

For example, "A young boy is just as likely to set the dinner table as his sister, Muslim women are depicted without head coverings and even men are laboring over the stove preparing family meals.". I totally agree with the first and last example, but not the middle one.

And anyway, whose "interpretations" will they teach? You can get people praying to jelly beans that call themselves muslims. So yeah, if the different interpretations thing goes too far, it could be a problem. All in all though, I think it's a great idea, and I applaud the German governement for their initiative. Perhaps other European countries will follow suit?
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I understand your concern sis...but if we think of older students, I'd think that they should know about the different divisions of Islam.

I would think that 'interpretations' means the schools of thought? Or the Sunni/ Shiite split. And I'm sure it will be authored intricately...
 
^^Yeah, for sure, if sunni/shiia is meant, or the different madhabs, then I think that's okay, if the kids can handle that much at their age.
I understood it to mean all the interpretations of "free thinking" muslims nowadays... hijab is not obligatory, drinking is fine if you don't get drunk, active homosexuality is acceptable, etc.

And of course, older students should study islam in more detail, it's just that this book is aimed towards primary school kids..
 
"We're going on the assumption that there is no such thing as the absolute correct Islam and believe that this book can be the basis for various strands of the faith," she said.
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how is this good?

there is most definitly a correct islam, and this is teaching otherwise. This is just a form of brainwashing
 
crayon said:
^^Yeah, for sure, if sunni/shiia is meant, or the different madhabs, then I think that's okay, if the kids can handle that much at their age.
I understood it to mean all the interpretations of "free thinking" muslims nowadays... hijab is not obligatory, drinking is fine if you don't get drunk, active homosexuality is acceptable, etc.

And of course, older students should study islam in more detail, it's just that this book is aimed towards primary school kids..
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Totally.
 
the book is a propoganda. there is no "liberal" islam. islam is one and complete(plz ignore the shiites).no head covering! it is teaching muslims not islam but western atheist culture
 

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