Research

Project Managers: Dr. Mujadad Zaman (University of Tübingen) and Prof. Dr. Fahimah Ulfat (University of Tübingen)

The teaching of Islam in high schools has recently been mandated by the federal government of Germany to run alongside other constitutionally recognized faith communities. This unprecedented initiative in German state history brings with it unique challenges for the education and preparation of future teachers in Germany. This entails not merely mirroring existing models of religious education found in the teaching of Christianity in German schools or those of Muslim majority countries but forging a new model, fitting to the German and larger European context. In light of these challenges, this project aims to create opportunities for German student teachers of Islamic Theology to learn from and engage with other European experiences with teaching Islam in schools, specifically with the UK and Bosnia. In doing so, we create a highly networked cohort of young teachers of Islam in Germany able to critically engage with models of religious education and enabled with the tools and skills necessary to construct and develop their own.
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Project Managers: Dr. Bilal Badat (University of Tübingen) and Dr. Farid Suleiman (University of Erlangen)
Project Assistant: Ertul Ortabas

The question of what makes something ‘beautiful’ has been a long-standing area of artistic, philosophical, and theological inquiry. Throughout the passage of history, deep intimations on form, colour, and harmony have motivated artists to pursue new and unexplored dimensions of aesthetic purity, impelled philosophers towards profound imaginations on the nature of beauty and the sublime, and inspired theologians to find proofs of the Divine in the natural and physical world. In almost all such discussions, engagement with beauty has been formulated as a conduit not only to a heightened sensory experience, but also emotional, imaginative, and spiritual enlightenment.
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Project leaders: Prof. Dr. Lejla Demiri (ZITh), Dr. Amina Nawaz (ZITh), Prof. Dr. Sohaira Siddiqui (Georgetown University Qatar)

The project "Exploring the Feminine within Islam" (Jan-Dec 2019) aimed at enriching the discourse on Islam and gender, which so far has mostly been conducted in the field of sociology and anthropology, by voices of Muslim women theologians. In order to work on theological concepts of "The Feminine within Islam" the foundation for an international network was laid. The network will bring together female scholars from different countries of origin, discourse spaces and age groups and thus bring new perspectives into the scientific discourse.
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