{"id":116101,"date":"2014-01-11T10:36:20","date_gmt":"2014-01-11T15:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/?p=116101"},"modified":"2019-01-07T16:08:54","modified_gmt":"2019-01-07T21:08:54","slug":"nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/","title":{"rendered":"NYTimes mostly ‘gets it’ on German schools and Islam"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

A few days ago, George Conger took to this space to \u201cbury<\/a>\u201d\u00a0The New York Times<\/em> for suddenly noticing the rise of Calvinism in unlikely Protestant venues, such as (Southern) Baptist churches.<\/p>\n

Today, I\u2019d like to congratulate the\u00a0Times<\/em> for, mostly, \u201cgetting it\u201d when it comes to Germany\u2019s public schools and religious instruction, in this case about Islam<\/a>. Here\u2019s the top of that report:<\/p>\n

FRANKFURT \u2014<\/strong> For the first time, German public schools are offering classes in Islam to primary school students using state-trained teachers and specially written textbooks, as officials try to better integrate the nation\u2019s large Muslim minority and counter the growing influence of radical religious thinking.<\/p>\n

The classes offered in Hesse State are part of a growing consensus that Germany, after decades of neglect, should do more to acknowledge and serve its Muslim population if it is to foster social harmony, overcome its aging demographics and head off a potential domestic security threat.<\/p>\n

The need, many here say, is ever more urgent. According to German security officials and widespread reports in the German news media, this past semester at least two young Germans in Hesse \u2014 one thought to be just 16 \u2014 were killed in Syria after heeding the call for jihad and apparently being recruited by hard-line Salafist preachers in Frankfurt.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is, in my opinion,\u00a0Times<\/em> reporting just about at its best: a crisp, clean lede, and a close-to-the-top explanation of what it means. <\/p>\n

Granted, it\u2019s a bit late, I would suggest, in terms of Germany\u2019s government, since questions about assimilation of \u201cguest workers\u201d from predominantly Muslim nations, beginning with Turkey, has been an issue for decades. But better (very) late than never, one supposes.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also a bit of explanation on how \u201creligious instruction\u201d has come to be in \u201cpublic\u201d (i.e., state-sponsored) schools, a concept that might be a tad jarring in the U.S. of A., where even bringing candy canes to class can get a grade-schooler in trouble<\/a>. Read on.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Hesse curriculum effectively places Islamic instruction on equal footing with similarly state-approved ethics training in the Protestant and Catholic faiths. By offering young Muslims a basic introduction to Islam as early as first grade, emphasizing its teachings on tolerance and acceptance, the authorities hope to inoculate young people against more extreme religious views while also signaling state acceptance of their faith.<\/p>\n

Parents have the option to enroll their children in the religious education classes offered in the district. Nurguel Altuntas, who helped develop the Hesse program at the state\u2019s Ministry of Education, said the sign-up for 29 classes in immigrant-heavy districts was enthusiastic.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The classes are optional, and are designed to emphasize \u201ctolerance and acceptance.\u201d So far, so good, and, in fact, very good, in my opinion, when it comes to a specific object lesson:<\/p>\n

In one class, Timur Kumlu recently asked his 19 6-year-old students each to take a strand from a large wool ball. He then instructed the children \u2014 whose parents hailed from Muslim countries as varied as Afghanistan, Albania, Morocco and Turkey \u2014 to examine how, like the threads, they, too, were woven together.<\/p>\n

It was a simple lesson containing a gentle message filled with symbolism \u2014 that they were linked by their Islamic faith and practices of prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are now all bound together \u2014 you come from different countries, and so do your parents,\u201d said Mr. Kumlu, who reminded the children that while their parents came from Afghanistan or Albania, they were born in Germany.<\/p>\n

His generally well-behaved pupils squirmed a bit, but listened attentively. \u201cThey come here with such different backgrounds,\u201d Mr. Kumlu said after the lesson. \u201cWe must educate so that they develop a personality with common roots,\u201d in Germany and in Islam.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is, however, only a glancing reference to anyone remotely resembling an Islamic authority, and then it\u2019s a attorney and organizational person, not an imam:<\/p>\n

Fazil Altin, 34, a lawyer who is president of the Islamic Federation, said Muslims and the city authorities in Berlin had wasted 20 years while they battled in court about whether Islam could be taught. Then, Mr. Altin said, the federation had to overcome suspicions about indoctrination \u2014 and all for 40 minutes\u2019 instruction per week, which he called \u201cpretty paltry.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his view, it will take more than formal state instruction in Islam to bridge the cultural gap between observant Muslims and a highly secular German society. \u201cIt is difficult to be a Muslim in Germany,\u201d said Mr. Altin, who said he had been denied access to clients in jails because of his faith. \u201cThe fact is, we are seen as a danger.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Along with getting some more Islamic authorities in the piece, it would have been helpful to have an explanation of\u00a0why<\/em> some in Germany see Muslims \u201cas a danger,\u201d so as to put Altin\u2019s complaint in context.<\/p>\n

Again,\u00a0The New York Times<\/em> mostly got it right here: there\u2019s apparently good instruction in the state of Hesse, and the idea is \u201cmainstreaming\u201d children into tolerance. There are some unanswered questions, however, as well as extra context that could have been added.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, George Conger took to this space to \u201cbury\u201d\u00a0The New York Times for suddenly noticing the rise of Calvinism in unlikely Protestant venues, such as (Southern) Baptist churches. Today, I\u2019d like to congratulate the\u00a0Times for, mostly, \u201cgetting it\u201d when it comes to Germany\u2019s public schools and religious instruction, in this case about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1629,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,35,7,1,24,19],"tags":[634,1269,219,2812],"class_list":["post-116101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academia","category-islam","category-journalism","category-uncategorized","category-world","category-world-religions","tag-children","tag-education","tag-germany","tag-nytimes"],"yoast_head":"\nNYTimes mostly 'gets it' on German schools and Islam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A few days ago, George Conger took to this space to "bury"\u00a0The New York Times for suddenly noticing the rise of Calvinism in unlikely Protestant venues,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NYTimes mostly 'gets it' on German schools and Islam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A few days ago, George Conger took to this space to "bury"\u00a0The New York Times for suddenly noticing the rise of Calvinism in unlikely Protestant venues,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"GetReligion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-11T15:36:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-07T21:08:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/123\/2014\/01\/IslamInGermany.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark Kellner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mark Kellner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/\",\"name\":\"NYTimes mostly 'gets it' on German schools and Islam\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-11T15:36:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-07T21:08:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/a9959112ba23257dcfe6835566c57be4\"},\"description\":\"A few days ago, George Conger took to this space to \\\"bury\\\"\u00a0The New York Times for suddenly noticing the rise of Calvinism in unlikely Protestant venues,\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/2014\/01\/nytimes-mostly-gets-it-on-german-schools-and-islam\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"NYTimes mostly ‘gets it’ on German schools and Islam\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/getreligion\/\",\"name\":\"GetReligion\",\"description\":\""The press . . . just doesn't get religion." - 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