US embassy cable - 05FRANKFURT2478

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 002478 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KISL, PHUM, PGOV, GM 
SUBJECT: Pilot Project to Introduce Muslim Religious 
Instruction in Baden-Wuerttemberg Public Schools 
 
REF: a) Berlin 979,  b) 04 Frankfurt 5675 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for Internet distribution 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY: In a first for Germany, the Baden- 
Wuerttemberg (B-W) state government will introduce religious 
instruction for Muslims in select public elementary schools 
beginning next year.  Twelve schools will participate in the 
program's initial four-year pilot program.  Five years in 
the making, the initiative was hampered in part by a 
fragmented Muslim position (reflecting the diversity of 
Islam in Germany -- ref A).  All major political B-W parties 
welcomed the move, hailing it as an important step in 
integrating the state's large and growing Muslim population. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
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State Forecasts Continued Growth in Muslim Population 
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2.  (U) According to an unpublished government report, the 
state's Muslim population has doubled since 1987 to 610,000 
persons (5.7% of the state's population) -- considerably 
higher than earlier estimates of around 400,000.  The report 
forecasts the state's Muslim population will grow by about a 
quarter in the next ten years (to over 750,000 in 2015). 
Experts cite continued immigration and a relatively high 
birth rate (every tenth child in Baden-Wuerttemberg is born 
to Muslim parents) as reasons for the increase.  Turks and 
Germans of Turkish descent comprise the largest group 
(332,500 or about 55%).  According to the report, 70,000 
Muslim students are registered in B-W schools; the state has 
318 mosques.  Over a third of the state's Muslim population 
lives in and around the state capital of Stuttgart. 
 
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Pilot Program for B-W Islamic Classes Begins in 2006 
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3.  (U) Beginning in 2006, twelve Baden-Wuerttemberg 
elementary schools will offer religious instruction for 
Muslim students in grades one through four as part of a four- 
year pilot program.  Baden-Wuerttemberg and participating 
Muslim groups will jointly fund the classes.  The B-W 
Education Ministry has already identified instructors of 
Turkish descent to teach the classes (in German).  Religious 
instructors must attend certification seminars at a state 
teaching college (in the absence of university certification 
programs which currently exist for Christian and Jewish 
religious instructors). 
 
4. (U) This breakthrough caps extended negotiations between 
state authorities and a diverse Muslim community (the 
working group for curriculum development, chaired by the B-W 
Education Ministry, included members of five Islamic 
organizations).  After four years of discussion, the working 
group ultimately decided to make local Islamic organizations 
responsible for the classes in their area.  Representatives 
of Alevi Muslims (about a third of the state's Muslims) say 
they will not participate in the classes and are awaiting 
approval of a separate curriculum (under consideration by 
the B-W Education Ministry) reflecting their religious 
views. 
 
5.  (SBU) Baden-Wuerttemberg Commissioner for Foreigners 
Christian Storr told us Minister-President Erwin Teufel 
(CDU/Christian Democratic Party) provided the final push to 
reach agreement prior to his retirement April 19.  While 
numerous German states teach about Islam, Baden-Wuerttemberg 
will be the first to have an approved religious curriculum 
for Islamic students in public schools (along the lines of 
approved curricula for Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish 
faiths).  Storr noted that female Muslim instructors will 
not/not be allowed to wear headscarves while teaching; the 
Ministry emphasizes that the curriculum is fully consistent 
with German constitutional values (including the rights of 
women).  Future projects include plans to participate in 
regional initiatives to bolster university training for 
imams. 
 
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COMMENT 
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6.  (SBU) Support for Islamic religious instruction spans 
the political spectrum, from the B-W Central Council for 
Muslims to state Education Minister Annette Schavan (an 
outspoken cultural conservative).  For Muslims, the issue is 
one of equal treatment -- offering children of Islamic faith 
the same opportunity for religious instruction in public 
schools as other students.  The state's political leadership 
sees the initiative as a means to integrate Muslims into 
mainstream German life.  With reference to the new program, 
M-P Teufel spoke of the need to prevent the emergence of 
"parallel societies," while Schavan opined that "religious 
instruction belongs in public schools and not in places 
about which we know nothing" (i.e., behind closed doors in 
Islamic schools and mosques).  END COMMENT. 
 
PASI