Wednesday, July 1, 2009

German Amassador to B&H Schmunk: Bosnian Islam - good "export product" of B&H to the EU



19.11.2007

Friedrich Ebert Foundation, in cooperation with the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo, and representatives of the Office of the SPD and the German Budestag Lale Akgün, the organizer of the two-day expert meeting "Islam in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Germany: Exchange of experiences and possibilities of cooperation in the field of imam education."
As the reporters after opening the paper said spokeswoman Akgun, the goal is to use experiences of the Faculty of Islamic Studies to take advantage of imam education for Germany.

- We know that their experiences are very good and that is based on good scientific knowledge. For us, these experiences are very important and we want us from Europe to learn something on the basis of the B&H experience, she said.

In Germany there are 3.5 million Muslims, and we needed imams to be educated on scientific grounds, who will also know the other religions, not just Islam, or who will be educated in the spirit of progressive and liberal Islam as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, stated the Akgun.

When it comes to excellency and scientific work, she figured out, the Faculty of Islamic Studies in Sarajevo can be compared perhaps only to Faculty in Ankara, but it is particularly important that the situation in Sarajevo is similar to that in Germany because of multi-religiousity and education in this spirit.

German Ambassador to B&H Michael Schmunk said that this project is interesting for B&H, because our country more than 12 years always had something to accept from the international community.

- However, here we have the opportunity for B&H to export something to the European Union. I think that in the time when we have a few positive things, this is a great thing. Precisely through this project is given the contribution to social life in Europe, and we in Germany can quickly take advantage of it, said Schmunk.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is not included in the EU empty-handed, said the German ambassador, stressing that Islam which is practiced in B&H fits very good with the understanding of these relations in the EU.

- Islam that you have here is a very good product for export, and we'll very glad to impot it. Not only we are willing to import it, but it is very big demand for this type of product, said Ambassador Schmunk.

The paper work involved around 30 representatives of German universities and theological faculties and universities and faculties from B&H. In the complex context of interreligious relations in the world, especially in times when the "Islamic question" is on a global scale, this event has great significance, especially bearing in mind the intention that the participants jointly identified the concept of cooperation implemented in practice.




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