A number of Christian holidays, including Pfingst (Whitsun) and Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi), have interspersed this month of May in Tübingen. While these holidays are formally observed with a day off from work or school, few German students that I have encountered actually know the meaning behind these days. Many do not consider themselves to be religious, do not attend church regularly, and therefore regard a religious holiday as simply a day off from the university. This phenomenon among students seems to reinforce the notion that Christianity, as a source of belief, is losing its stronghold on many Germans. At the same time, however, it continues to wield influence as a source of tradition which shapes the day-to-day lives of the people here.
Although Christianity plays a less central role in beliefs of the German people, this by no means indicates that religion has moved off the scope of German radar all together. On the contrary, matters of religion stand front and center in many of the current events here, and many Germans deem it necessary to not only understand the issue at hand, but to understand the role that religion plays in everyday society. This is especially true in the case of Islam. Upon walking into a local bookstore, for example, I thought it interesting to find at the entrance an entire aisle of books devoted to Islam and its teachings and beliefs. Seminars and lectures offered at the university on the topic of Islam seem to be attended by as many, if not more, non-Muslims as Muslims. In this way, discussions and debates about the beliefs and traditions of Islam seem to be connected and interwoven into almost every aspect of German life.
As any glance at the headlines of a German newspaper will indicate, the growing relevance of Islam in Germany is not difficult to understand. In Berlin, for example, an influx of predominantly Muslim Turkish population has transformed the German capital into the largest city of Turks outside of Istanbul. Having spoken with several Germans about this issue, they explained to me several challenges that have arisen out of the growing Muslim population in Germany. This includes Muslim Turkish migrant workers that pushed thousands of ethnic Germans into employment jeopardy and the pressure on Muslims to integrate into the German society, especially in terms of learning how to read, write, and speak German. While the discussion of Islam in Germany has many social, political, and economic implications tied to it, much like it does in the United States, I was most surprised to observe how such issues of religion are addressed in German society.
While many debates relating to Islam tend to focus on the issues of radical fundamentalism and Muslim extremists, most Germans seem to take a more balanced approach and differentiate between Islam and instances of radicalism. It has indeed been my experience thus far that many Germans espouse a genuine interest in learning about all cultures and religions, not only Muslims. In this way, many Germans themselves may not adhere to any formal religious beliefs, but they seem to be very open to learning about other religions and how these beliefs fit into larger conception of society.
As any glance at the headlines of a German newspaper will indicate, the growing relevance of Islam in Germany is not difficult to understand. In Berlin, for example, an influx of predominantly Muslim Turkish population has transformed the German capital into the largest city of Turks outside of Istanbul. Having spoken with several Germans about this issue, they explained to me several challenges that have arisen out of the growing Muslim population in Germany. This includes Muslim Turkish migrant workers that pushed thousands of ethnic Germans into employment jeopardy and the pressure on Muslims to integrate into the German society, especially in terms of learning how to read, write, and speak German. While the discussion of Islam in Germany has many social, political, and economic implications tied to it, much like it does in the United States, I was most surprised to observe how such issues of religion are addressed in German society.
While many debates relating to Islam tend to focus on the issues of radical fundamentalism and Muslim extremists, most Germans seem to take a more balanced approach and differentiate between Islam and instances of radicalism. It has indeed been my experience thus far that many Germans espouse a genuine interest in learning about all cultures and religions, not only Muslims. In this way, many Germans themselves may not adhere to any formal religious beliefs, but they seem to be very open to learning about other religions and how these beliefs fit into larger conception of society.
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