ABSTRACT
The regulation of Islamic religious education (IRE) varies greatly among German states. Currently, we can distinguish between four models: IRE as a regular subject, trials of confessional IRE, non-confessional trials of education about Islam, or no IRE. This variety is puzzling as the content of Christian RE classes is rather uniformly developed among all German states. The chapter analyses the different models of IRE in Germany and examines curricula, textbooks, and teacher training from a comparative perspective. Given positive evaluation results and an increasing number of Muslim pupils, the prospects for IRE appear to be promising. But still, the main challenge for the establishment of IRE as a regular subject is the lack of uniform organisational structures and homogeneity within Islam in Germany and a legal-administrative system privileging Christian churches. This requires an inter-organisational reform process within the Islamic religious community in Germany as well as the abolishment of legal and cultural hurdles in state administration.
