Training for imams at Catholic University

Cathcon translation of Ausbilding for Imame

It is about as likely as Catholic priesthood candidates going to the Muslim Al-Azhar University in Cairo for courses: the renowned Institut Catholique de Paris beginning this week offers additional training for future imams. The fact that Catholics are involved in the training of Muslim clerics has enraged some Muslims. This is further proof that in France that Muslims are not trusted to regulate their own affairs, says Ali Rahni, a spokesman for the Muslim Association. Even to some Catholics, it seems strange that their university now absorbs Muslim students.

Indeed, the project has nothing to do with theological training, but has a very specific political background. Currently there are approximately 1200 imams in France. The Muslim cleric directs the daily prayers and delivers the Friday sermon. They are elected by the faithful. Most of them have no special training, nearly half do not speak French, and only about one in five has French nationality.

Secular additional training
President Nicolas Sarkozy, when interior minister and whose portfolio included religious communities, was responsible for the better integration of Muslims living in France. Therefore, he pressed for the creation of a Muslim Council (CFCM), comparable with the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. Even a secular country like France needed a contact organisation on the Muslim side.

The French government considered it urgently necessary that Muslim clerics are aware of the religious communities in France. The separation of church and state is defined by law. In concrete terms, this means, for example, that the state levies no church tax, no religious community is financially supported and there is no religious teaching in schools.

Several state universities rejected the idea of an additional training for Muslim community leaders with a reference to the secular tradition. The Catholics could be persuaded - ultimately it is in their interest to create a dialogue with enlightened Muslims and to block the fundamentalist currents in "garage mosques". "It is about the stranger, not to convert him, but to help him to integrate," says Institute Director, Pierre Cahné.

"Religions, secularism, interculturation"
For the first semester, nearly two dozen students enrolled, among them women who work in Muslim associations. Most of them are from North Africa. The six-month course called "religions, secularism, interculturation" and offers a state-approved diploma. On the schedule are courses on the values of the French Republic, the right of religious communities in France, financial administration and rhetoric.

The Mosque of Paris, which provides the future imams with a theological training, is involved with the project. "The goal is to promote the integration of future imams in France ", stressed the head of the mosque, Dalil Boubakeur.