Research Project “Islam in Bavaria”: First Results
On the 10th of June 2016, the research group on “Islam in Bavaria”, headed by the Islamic Scholar and jurisprudent Mathias Rohe, presented its initial findings in the Water’s Hall of the Orangery of Erlangen. Aim of the project, which has been initiated by the Bavarian ministry of education and cultural affairs after the attacks on the French satire magazine “Charlie Hebdo”, is to observe the reality of life of Bavarian Muslims. Until 2018, Rohe‘s group does research on how Muslims are integrated in Bavaria and aims at identifying possible difficulties. In a radio report from the Bayerischer Rundfunk (Bavarian Broadcasting), Mathias Rohe and his colleague Mahmoud Jaraba apart from others present their project. They reveal that there is no such thing as “the Islam” in Germany. On the contrary, Muslim life in Bavaria is extremely diverse. According to estimations of Rohe, who heads the ad hoc-research group, there are hundreds of thousands Muslims living in Bavaria. However, the group lacks precise dates on this issue. Nevertheless, Rohe assumes that a majority of these Muslims is well-integrated into German society.
The Erlangen research group is yet at the beginning of their work. In the following years, the integration of refugees as well as the role of women in the Muslim communities of Bavaria is to be observed. Additionally, the group puts its focus on possible parallel structures or even parallel justice.
An overall picture of the living situation of Muslims in Bavaria is expected for 2018. Then, Rohe and his team will also provide recommendations of action for the ministry.