Association of Islamic Cultural Centers

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Association of Islamic Cultural
Centers (VIKZ)
legal form registered association
founding 1973
Seat Cologne , GermanyGermanyGermany 
purpose Religious, social and cultural support for Muslims in Germany
Chair Ali Yilmaz
Members approx. over 350 mosque and educational associations
Website www.vikz.de

The Association of Islamic Cultural Centers e. V. ( VIKZ ; Turkish İslam Kültür Merkezleri Birliği , IKMB) is the oldest and one of the largest Islamic umbrella organizations in Germany. This organization, which is closely related to the Islamic scholar Süleyman Hilmi Tunahan , was founded in 1973 and has its headquarters in Cologne at Vogelsanger Strasse 290. It represents Sunni Islam with a mystical character.

history

In 1973 the forerunner institution, the Islamic Cultural Center , was founded. It sees itself as politically neutral and takes care of the religious, social and cultural needs of Muslims.

In 1979 it applied for recognition as a corporation under public law in order to be able to give religious instruction to Muslim students in public schools. This request was not followed up. In 1994 the VIKZ submitted another application that has not yet been approved. As part of the forum for status issues of Islamic religious communities, located in the State Chancellery of North Rhine-Westphalia, the VIKZ continues to pursue the goal of the statute of the public corporation.

The Association of Islamic Cultural Centers is a founding member of the Coordination Council of Muslims , which was set up shortly before the German Islam Conference . The association is represented at the conference by its president. Ali Yilmaz has been the new President since February 2018.

Club structure

The VIKZ was one of the founders of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany , but resigned in 2000. The association is committed to the direction of Sunni Islam Hanafi law school . The centralization process in 1980, in which all independent municipalities were dissolved and merged into a single association in Cologne, was reversed in 2006. The association has 9 regional associations across Germany and around 300 mosque communities .

The VIKZ is the only Islamic association that has been training theologians in Germany since the 1980s. According to a survey by the BAMF, the VIKZ has its own four-year training program in Islamic theology in Cologne for men and women. The requirement for admission is the secondary school leaving certificate or the completion of full-time compulsory schooling.

activities

Insight into the reading café for young people founded by OBS and VIKZ
Konrad Wolf , Minister for Science, Further Education and Culture in Rhineland-Palatinate visits the Ulu Camii Mosque of the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ) on October 3, 2018 in Mainz-Gonsenheim as part of the nationwide “ Open Mosque Day ”

According to its statements, the VIKZ is active in social, religious and cultural areas. He attaches great importance to the religious education of the next generation of Muslims and their children in Germany. In addition to religious instruction, the association offers various courses such as help with homework, German and computer courses. In most cases, the courses are held in cooperation with the local adult education center. The primary goal is improved communication with the social environment and increased participation in public life. Together with the Otto Benecke Foundation eV (OBS), the association carried out the model project "Enhanced Participation of Migrant Organizations (PARTIMO)" to improve educational and youth work, which was financed by the Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth. In this context, a reading café was opened in the student dormitory for the students and their friends in March 2011 in order to encourage reading among migrant children and to encourage encounters with other young people.

In the field of youth work that promotes integration, the association and the foundation want to convey methods for the intercultural opening of mosque communities and youth work and professionalize the association's youth work.

Together with the other associations of the KRM, the VIKZ organizes the “ Open Mosque Day ” every year on October 3rd . On this special day, the mosques of the associations open their doors to all interested parties and invite you to dialogue. The association also organizes the “Multifestival”. The aim of the multi-festival is to create an opportunity for cultures to meet. The first multi-festival took place in 2010 with over 50,000 visitors in Duisburg. Under the motto “50 years of immigration - 50 years of German-Turkish friendship”, the four-day multi-festival 2011 was celebrated for the second time at Messe Essen with around 100,000 visitors.

Character of the VIKZ

The Turkish-influenced association is a contractual partner of these countries in the Hanseatic cities of Hamburg and Bremen, and in Rhineland-Palatinate it was designated by an expert as an Islamic religious community within the meaning of Article 7 (3) of the Basic Law.

In Hamburg, the VIKZ is the state's cooperation partner for religious instruction in accordance with Article 7 of the Basic Law.

Public discussion about the VIKZ

The attempt to set up association-owned dormitories for students was controversial among the public. The first officially approved student dormitory of the VIKZ in North Rhine-Westphalia was opened in Duisburg in 2003 ; it is now considered to be well integrated into the district and a "showcase project". The association emphasizes that it is all about intensive academic and religious promotion of the students.

In an unpublished report by the Marburg Turkologist Ursula Spuler-Stegemann from 2004, commissioned by the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs , it is said that, contrary to assertions to the contrary, the homes serve "almost exclusively Islamic teaching and practice in religious practice" and are "absolutely obstructive to integration " . The students would be " indoctrinated into a" strictly Sharia- oriented "Islam and immunized against Christianity as well as against the West as well as against our Basic Law". The migration researcher Ursula Boos-Nünning strongly criticized the report: “The problem with the report is that hardly any statement is substantiated. It is not argued with empirical data or even just individual experiences on the level of the description, but many statements reveal the emotionally negative basic attitudes of the author. "

In 2008, the local newspaper Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger cited allegations against the VIKZ from a dossier of the Cologne police from 2006, which refers to Spuler-Stegemann. In it the association was accused of being anti-Western, anti-democratic and anti-Jewish, children were beaten in the Koran schools of the VIKZ, the "holy war" and martyrdom were glorified in sermons and a "strategy paper" gave comprehensive instructions on how to "darken" illegal activities. The VIKZ rejected the allegations in a press release and back. He referred to his 35 years of work. According to the religious understanding of the VIKZ, there is no “holy war” and he only understands jihad as a service to people. The police dossier did not provide a basis for criminal prosecution, nor did it reveal any evidence of observation by the intelligence agencies; it also had no consequences for the VIKZ's cooperation with state authorities.

The religious scholar Gerdien Jonker considered the allegations to be "warmed up" and put VIKZ and the Catholic Church on the same level as regards "closeness and conservatism". The NRW Ministry of Integration stated that allegations that the association is "anti-Western, anti-democratic and anti-Jewish" cannot be confirmed by the state government. Furthermore, the Ministry of the Interior of North Rhine-Westphalia denied ever having described the VIKZ as "hostile to integration". In this discussion the VIKZ was taken under protection by the Christian-Islamic Society .

Due to the allegations, the VIKZ commissioned the emeritus educational scientist Ursula Boos-Nünning in 2008 to prepare an opinion on the 19 student residences of the VIKZ. The study is intended to dispel reservations of the public and authorities against the association. The results of the study entitled “Praying and Learning” were presented to the public in July 2010. 91% of the students cited the hope of better school grades as the main reason for living in the dormitory, 85% the motive to learn more about their religion. The young people do not feel that tradition and openness to the world are contradictory. According to Boos-Nünning, the two core allegations were - the young people were moving to the homes under pressure from their parents; The goal is to educate the elite - not confirmed. The young people are neither religiously nor politically indoctrinated, but many of the predominantly Turkish students have hardly any German friends, and instead of imparting media skills to the young people, "media abstinence" is an educational goal. She also criticizes the strong external determination of the students in their spare time and the fact that the young people are not given any say or participation rights.

Connection to the so-called "Süleymanlılar"

The VIKZ is connected to the Islamic lay movement of the Federation of Associations for the Promotion of Schoolchildren and Students in Turkey, often referred to by other Turkish Muslims as "followers of Suleyman" ( Turkish Suleymanlılar ) . The movement goes back to the professor, preacher and Naqschbandi - Sheikh Suleyman Hilmi Tunahan , who died in 1959 and who is venerated by his students and followers as a "veli" friend of God. Since Tunahan did not pass on his office as spiritual leader (sheikh), his students organized as a lay movement. The characterization of the “Süleymancılar” as “ Dervish or Sufi Order” ( Tariqa ) or “Brotherhood” is therefore incorrect.

In Germany, the members of the VIKZ are usually very inconspicuous and hardly publicize their teaching. However, they emphasize their Sunni orthodoxy and reject the term Süleymancılar as pejorative . Instead, they prefer the name Süleymanlılar .

See also

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ - ( Memento of the original from February 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.deutsche-islam-konferenz.de
  2. ^ Social services on the VIKZ website.
  3. ^ Ministry of Labor, Integration and Social Affairs of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia: The diversity of organized Islam in North Rhine-Westphalia. (PDF) July 1, 2015, accessed on September 6, 2017 .
  4. ^ German Muslims form a joint coordination council . In: Die Welt from April 11, 2007.
  5. ↑ VIKZ press release: VIKZ elects new federal board , February 6, 2018.
  6. ↑ About Us: Mystical Alignment . Association of Islamic Cultural Centers eV Cologne, accessed on August 18, 2017.
  7. ↑ [1]
  8. ↑ The training of imams . In: Frankfurter Rundschau, November 30, 2004.
  9. ↑ Survey on the training of religious personnel in Islamic communities. Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, February 2020, accessed on 14 July 2020 .
  10. ^ Youth work on the VIKZ website.
  11. ↑ PARTIMO project - participation of migrant organizations .
  12. ↑ VIKZ gives the go-ahead for better education and youth work .
  13. ↑ Homepage Multifestival incl. Archive ( Memento of the original from January 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , applies to the years 2010, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.multifestival.de
  14. ↑ VIKZ press release: Multifestival 2011 is a complete success , October 4th, 2011.
  15. ↑ Contract between the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, the DITIB Regional Association Hamburg, SCHURA - Council of Islamic Communities in Hamburg and the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers .
  16. ^ Agreement between the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and the Islamic religious communities in the state of Bremen .
  17. ↑ Supplementary LEGAL OPINION on the status of the DITIB regional association Rhineland-Palatinate, the Schura Rhineland-Palatinate regional association of Muslims, the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers eV (VIKZ) and the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat (AMJ) federal association as religious communities within the meaning of Art. 7 para. 3 GG .
  18. ↑ Religious instruction for all children .
  19. ↑ Peter Klucken: Duisburg: “There is no indoctrination here”  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , rp-online.de, February 9, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.rp-online.de  
  20. ↑ “And the Koran at night” - More and more Muslims in Germany hold religious-conservative views. Islamic associations promote these tendencies. (PDF; 635 kB), SPIEGEL 46/2006.
  21. ↑ A better start in life thanks to a visit to the dormitory , p. 7.
  22. ↑ Matthias Niewels: Serious allegations against Islam Association . In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger from April 10, 2008.
  23. ^ Cologne: VIKZ defends itself with a press release against the report of the Kölner Stadtanzeiger. Author Jonker: "Warmed Up Allegations". Arson attack in St. Ingbert? ( Memento of July 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), Islamische Zeitung (IZ), April 14, 2008.
  24. ^ A b Andrea Dernbach: Muslim Association: SPD politicians for boycott. Justice sees no handle , tagesspiegel.de, April 13, 2008, accessed April 15, 2011.
  25. ↑ Gregor Spohr: VIKZ is not under observation . In: Hertener Allgemeine from June 12, 2008 (PDF; 6 kB), accessed on April 15, 2011.
  26. ↑ "We are constitutional" (PDF file; 426 kB), Der Westen, April 23, 2008.
  27. ↑ Press release of the Christian-Islamic Society on the allegations against the VIKZ (PDF file; 22 kB), April 25, 2008.
  28. ↑ Examine the work of the student dormitories , SWR, September 22, 2008.
  29. ↑ a b Canan Topçu: Good report: boarding schools under the microscope . In: Frankfurter Rundschau, July 12, 2010.
  30. ↑ Harald Biskup: VIKZ: Islamverband does not indoctrinate students . In: Kölner Stadtanzeiger from July 9, 2010.
  31. ↑ Self-presentation ( memento of February 4, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), see point 5: The question of the “mystical orientation” of members of the VIKZ.
  32. ↑ SÜLEYMANLILAR NEDİR? süleymanlılar ne zaman? (Turkish).

Coordinates: 50 ° 57 ′ 6.2 ″  N , 6 ° 54 ′ 10.6 ″  E