With the legally embodied freedom of religion in Germany, Muslims have the right to get Islam lessons. But although 3,2 Million Muslims live in Germany, there are still no proper approved Islam lessons in the German schools. Teaching Islam in German schools failed in the past because of lack of the suitable teaching staff. This will now change.
The “Centre for Religious Studies” in Münster University in Germany begins now with the education and training of Islam teachers.
The learning will be through Professor Muhammad Sven Kalisch, an Islam scientist from Hamburg.
According to Kalisch, the first step to teaching religion is the language course. “It is so important for us that the instructions are given in German” Kalisch says. He isn’t against teaching in mother tongues, but he believes that if Islam is wanted to be a part of the German society then Muslims should learn their religion in German to know how to express themselves and to be able to fit in society. On the other hand, Kalisch and his colleagues want to train religion teachers who have both a scientific and an Islamic background, in order to avoid any extremist tendencies. It’s not yet clear how many Islam teachers will be trained, but the need for such approved teachers is highly requested. Around 800,000 students in German schools are Muslims.
The courses for Islam teachers will begin next winter semester 2005/2006. To get the permission for these courses, the applicants should be Muslims, and should qualify as teachers, or at least have the goal of teaching in their course of studies.
After having the qualified and approved Islam teachers, schools will be offering Islamic education for the Muslim students. The Ministry of Culture and the Muslim associations will be organizing with each other to know how to offer this kind of education.

Personally I believe this is a great step forward that will help Muslims in Germany learn Islam the right way and in German.
Source: DeutscheWelle