Christian-Islamic meeting and documentation center

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The Christian-Islamic Meeting and Documentation Center (CIBEDO) in Frankfurt am Main is the specialist unit of the German Bishops' Conference for Christian-Islamic dialogue , with the task of promoting interreligious dialogue and the coexistence of Christians and Muslims.

The organization was founded in 1978 by the Order of Africa Missionaries, White Fathers , in Cologne and has established itself as an important point of contact for both Christians and Muslims in questions of this dialogue.

history

While in Eastern and Southern European countries such as Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania or Russia, coexistence has been practiced since the occupation by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century or since the Russian colonization in the 19th century Muslim presence, on the other hand, is relatively new in Western Europe, especially in the Federal Republic of Germany. The economic boom after the Second World War, but also the escalation of political conflicts in countries in the Islamic world, in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, triggered a wave of immigration of Muslim workers and asylum seekers. Even after the recruitment ban, the number of Muslims in Germany continued to rise, as the foreign workers stayed on and their families and children followed suit. The number of Muslims in Europe is estimated at 35-53 million today, in Germany the number is given as around 3.8-4.3 million.

While Muslims have organized themselves in all European countries today, it was often Christians in the beginning who took on the situation of Muslims in the social-charitable area and in socio-political issues. There were often church social institutions that represented the interests of Muslim migrants.

In the course of time, this activity has also extended to pastoral and pastoral areas, e.g. B. on the topic of marriages of different denominations, Muslim children in Christian kindergartens or in church private schools, on the admission of Muslim youths in Christian organizations or on the topic of conversion . The permanent working group of the German Bishops' Conference for contacts to the world religions considered in the 1970s to create a suitable institution. Their task should be to observe the development of Muslim migration and to develop orientations for the Christian-Islamic dialogue.

The organization was founded on the initiative of Julius Angerhausen , Auxiliary Bishop in Essen, on October 1, 1978 in Cologne as an institution of the White Fathers Missionary Order by its German province. She wants to document the dialogue between Christians and Muslims. CIBEDO wants to help to provide orientation and to work through public relations, advanced training and participation in committees. She reports on the progress of the dialogue and can provide information on Islamic and Christian issues. Hans Vöcking , an Africa missionary who is also an expert on Islam in the Council of European Bishops' Conferences , was involved in setting up Cibedo . In 1998, Cibedo was approved as one of its posts by the Permanent Council of the Episcopal Conference. The development from the initiative of an order to the responsibility of the Catholic Church shows a growing interest in information about Islam in the Church. Timo Aytaç Güzelmansur has headed the organization since 2012.

The foundation of the Christian-Islamic Meeting and Documentation Center (CIBEDO) as the office of the German Bishops' Conference was commemorated on October 19, 2018 in Berlin with a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary . On the occasion of the anniversary, around 200 guests from politics, religion and society, representatives of the Vatican and Muslims, and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier spoke at the ceremony . The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Reinhard Cardinal Marx , gave the keynote address .

tasks

CIBEDO is the specialist unit of the German Bishops' Conference with the task of promoting the interreligious dialogue between Christianity and Islam as well as the coexistence of Christians and Muslims.

The Second Vatican Council teaches to treat Muslims “who worship the one God with us” ( Nostra Aetate , 3) with “respect”. In addition, the Catholic Church knows all people are embraced by God's offer of salvation ( Lumen Gentium 16). That is why she is tasked with conducting the interreligious dialogue “with wisdom and love” (Nostra Aetate, 2). In this declaration on non-Christian religions, the wording under No. 3 states:

The Church also regards with great respect the Muslims who worship the only God, the living and self-contained, merciful and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth who spoke to men. They strive to submit to his hidden advice with all their soul, just as Abraham submitted to God, to whom the Islamic faith is happy to appeal. Jesus, whom they do not recognize as God, they venerate as a prophet, and they honor his virgin mother Mary, whom they sometimes invoke in piety. Moreover, they await the day of judgment, on which God will raise up all people and reward them. That is why they value a moral standard of living and especially worship God through prayer, alms and fasting.
However, since there have been many quarrels and enmities between Christians and Muslims over the centuries, the Holy Synod exhorts everyone to leave the past aside, to strive for mutual understanding and to work together to protect and promote social justice, moral justice Goods and last but not least peace and freedom for all people.

Under No. 2 it says:

Therefore she admonishes her sons that with wisdom and love, through conversation and cooperation with those who profess other religions and through their testimony of the Christian faith and life, they should acquire those spiritual and moral goods and also the socio-cultural values ​​that are to be found in them, recognize, uphold and promote .

The leader, Hans Vöcking, explained that the statements of the council are a “Magna Charta” for the encounter with Muslims and the interreligious dialogue. CIBEDO's work areas are documentation, pedagogy and teaching, especially through publications. The mutual understanding of the two religious cultures is a prerequisite for peaceful coexistence. This takes place through lectures, participation in conferences and meetings or participation in various church and interreligious bodies.

documentation

The organization documents the development of Islamic life in Europe, especially in Germany, for example questions about the integration of Muslim migrants, contributions to current Islamic and theological topics and statements from the Muslim, Christian and academic sectors. For this purpose, CIBEDO maintains a reference library with a volume of approx. 12,000 media, a magazine library and documentation of newspaper articles since 1978. Since 2000, this archive has been organized according to keywords. This means that information on almost all topics relating to Islam and Christian-Islamic encounters can be collected.

Teaching

In cooperation with universities, the organization offers to get to know Islam as a religion and as a way of life. Basic lectures as well as topic-related lecture series offer those interested a wide range of theoretical training with practical aspects. One example of this is the study program “Islam and Christian – Muslim Encounters” at the Philosophical-Theological University of Sankt Georgen .

pedagogy

Educators are often confronted with difficult topics that determine the everyday life of Christians and Muslims. The organization sheds light on the different rules of conduct, especially for children and young people, and supports them in dealing with conflict situations. Not only through publications on various subject areas, but also through the fact that the speakers from CIBEDO are available for further training events, one can help to understand the other better or to avoid conflicts.

Publications

The increasing proportion of Muslims in society influences our daily interaction and causes a growing interest in information about Islam and interreligious dialogue. In addition to practical aids such. B. the church leader for Muslims or help with pastoral questions, CIBEDO offers two publication series with the articles and the series :

  • The articles appear quarterly in print and online as a forum. The magazine provides comprehensive information about everything that takes place in dialogue: conferences and meetings, developments, literature, conflicts and differences, but also common things.
  • The series of publications, which has been published since 2012, aims to illuminate theological questions of dialogue and to present them in a comprehensible and manageable manner.

Publications

  • see website, section: Cibedo publications
  • Maurice Borrmans: Paths to Christian-Islamic Dialogue. Secretariat for Non-Christians, 1985
  • Barbara Huber: Islam: Slides and explanations. CIBEDO Frankfurt (Ed.), Religious Education Seminar of the Diocese of Regensburg 1994
  • Barbara Huber-Rudolf, ed .: Islam in the mirror of Muslim writers. A reader. Frankfurt 2000
  • Barbara Huber-Rudolf, Alexander Rudolf: invitation. A church leader for Muslims. Frankfurt 2003
  • Series: CIBEDO contributions. On the conversation between Christians and Muslims. Since 2006; online in the archive
  • Christian W. Troll : In the service of reconciliation. For an authentic dialogue between Christians and Muslims. Edited by Peter Hünseler. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2008
  • Timo Güzelmansur (ed.): The official documents of the Catholic Church on the dialogue with Islam. Einl. Christian W. Troll. Regensburg 2009
  • Peter Hünseler, Salvatore Di Noia (ed.): Church and Islam in dialogue. European countries in comparison. Pustet, Regensburg 2010
  • Timo Güzelmansur (Ed.): Did Jesus announce Muhammad? The Paraclete of the Gospel of John and its Koranic meaning. ( CIBEDO series volume 1) Regensburg 2012
  • Timo Güzelmansur: God and man in the teaching of the Anatolian Alevis . A systematic-theological reflection from a Christian perspective. ( CIBEDO publication series Volume 2) Regensburg 2012
  • Timo Güzelmansur (Ed.): The Koranic motif of forgery ( taḥrīf ) by Jews and Christians. Islamic interpretations and Christian reactions ( CIBEDO series 3) Regensburg 2014.
  • Timo Güzelmansur, Tobias Specker SJ (Ed.): Paulus von Tarsus, Architect of Christianity? Islamic interpretations and Christian reactions ( CIBEDO series 4), Regensburg 2016.
  • Nora Kalbarczyk, Timo Güzelmansur, Tobias Specker (eds.): Does God give laws? Ius divinum from a Christian and Muslim perspective ( CIBEDO series 5), Regensburg 2018.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See Federal Office for Migration and Refugees : Muslim Life in Germany. Nuremberg 2009, p. 11.
  2. ^ Hans Vöcking: 30 years of CIBEDO. The founding story . In: CIBEDO contributions , vol. 2008, issue 4, pp. 4–9, here p. 7.
  3. ^ Staff member on the CIBEDO website, accessed on March 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ 40 years of CIBEDO . In: CIBEDO . ( cibedo.de [accessed on November 6, 2018]).
  5. ↑ www.bundespraesident.de: The Federal President / Speeches / Ceremony "40 Years of CIBEDO". Retrieved November 6, 2018 .
  6. ↑ a b German translation on the Vatican website.