Germany and Turkiye agree to train in Germany imams who serve Turkish immigrant community

Muslims perform Friday prayer at Cologne Central Mosque in Cologne, Germany on March 24, 2023 [Mesut Zeyrek/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images]

Germany and Turkiye agreed, Thursday, to gradually end the deployment of Turkish state-employed imams to Germany and to, instead, have imams trained in Germany to serve the country’s large Turkish immigrant community, AP reports,

According to the report, as part of the joint German-Turkish training initiative, 100 imams are to be educated in Germany annually starting next year, while the number of imams assigned from Turkiye is to be gradually reduced by the same number.

German Interior Minister, Nancy Faeser, called the agreement “an important milestone for the integration and participation of Muslim communities in Germany.”

“We need preachers who speak our language, know our country and stand up for our values,” Faeser said. “We want imams to get involved in the dialogue between religions and discuss questions of faith in our society.”

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