Category: Publications
Islam and Christianity Nr. 2/2009 (9. Jg.)
Jesus and Muhammad as Founders of Religion
IFI Press Release on the Discussion Concerning Islamophobia
BONN (October 26, 2009) – On the occasion of the trial beginning on Monday, October 26, 2009, in the Marwa el-Sharbini murder case, the scholar of Islam Christine Schirrmacher, from the Institute of Islamic studies, speaks out in favor of the necessary distinction to be made between legitimate criticism of the ideology of political Islam and justified criticism of deficits in integration on the one hand, and a general rejection of all Muslims or even xenophobic offenses against Muslim fellow citizens on the other.
The Koran. Arabic-German. Translation and commentary by Adel Theodor Khoury
The text of this further German-Arabic version of the Koran is based on the 1987 translation of the well-known Professor emeritus of Religious Science at the Roman Catholic theological faculty of the University of Münster (Westphalia), T. A. Khoury, published in association with leading Muslim theologians including the General Secretary of the Muslim World Congress.
IFI Press Release on the Influence of Islamic Internet Sites upon Muslim Youth in Germany
BONN (August 17, 2009) – In regard to the question about the factors for integration and de-integration among Muslim youth in Germany, the varied and constantly growing offerings on Islamic websites should be taken into still more stronger consideration, according to the judgement of the Rev. Canon Albrecht Hauser from the Institute of Islamic Studies of the German Evangelical Alliance.
(Deutsch) Pressemitteilung anlässlich der jüngsten Entwicklungen im Iran
(Deutsch) B O N N (23. Juni 2009) – Eine der Ursachen für die anhaltend starken Proteste im Iran gegen die politische und geistliche Führung des Landes könnte nach Einschätzung der Islamwissenschaftlerin Prof. Christine Schirrmacher vom Institut für Islamfragen der Evangelischen Allianz außer in den Protesten gegen Wahlmanipulation und Machtmissbrauch in der traditionell-historischen innerschiitischen Debatte um die Legitimität politischer Herrschaft liegen.
(Deutsch) Rezension: The Islamist: Why I joined radical Islam in Britain, what I saw inside and why I left
Mohamed M. Husain’s book is a protest against political Islam. It is based on his own experience as a British Muslim of Indian descent who grew up in London, rebelled against the traditional Islam of his parents and became an extremist. He eventually saw the error of his concepts and activities. The book is captivating and extremely timely. Why are young educated British Muslims becoming extremists?
(Deutsch) Zusammenfassung des Bundesverfassungsschutzberichtes 2008
(Deutsch) Nach dem Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008 ist Deutschland weiter „Teil eines weltweiten Gefahrenraums“ und befindet sich im „unmittelbaren Zielspektrum islamistisch-terroristischer Gruppierungen“.
IFI Press Release on the Occasion of an Interview with Tariq Ramadan from May 20, 2009
BONN (May 29, 2009) – When, in the Internet portal qantara, a “modern understanding of religious belief on the basis of a separation of state and church” is attributed to Tariq Ramadan, the Egyptian-born Swiss scholar of Islam, then one should pay attention to the exact meaning of the individual key concepts and catchwords used by him in order better to place Ramadan’s understanding of Islam in his overall concept, so the assessment by the scholar of Islam Dr. Christine Schirrmacher from the Institute of Islamic Studies of the German Evangelical Alliance.
IfI Press Release on the Occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on March 21, 2009
Bonn (March 26, 2009) – Islam scholar Prof. Dr. Christine Schirrmacher from the Institute of Islamic Studies, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, has warned against condemning statements critical of Islam as an expression of racism.
Stefan Wild: God, Man and Prophet in the Koran
Wild’s essay provides a clearlywritten and useful summary of the Koranic view of God and human beings. His discussion of Islamic and non-Islamic concepts of revelation brings out clearly the immense gulf which continues to separate the two positions.
Christoph Burgmer (Ed.): The Koran in Dispute. The Luxenberg Thesis: The Debate so Far
The year 2000 saw the pseudonymous publication of “The Reading of the Koran” setting out Christoph Luxenberg’s thesis that certain passages of the Koran should be understood not according to the Arabic sense of the words but to an underlying Syriac-Aramaic sense, thereby giving the Koran a whole new meaning.
“Islamic Charter” of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD) – A Comment
On February 3, 2002, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany (German: Zentralrat der Muslime in Deutschland – ZMD) passed an “Islamic Charter”, which is supposed to be a Muslim “manifesto regarding the German state and society”.
The noble Qur’an and the translation of its meaning into the German language
Always remembering that according to the tenets of Islam the text of the Koran can never legitimately be translated, only its “meaning” (p. xi), this is certainly the most significant Islamic Arabic-German version to date, even if the Introduction (p. xii) implies at the first glance it is the first ever by completely passing over the Ahmadiyya translation which has been available for decades.
Günter Kettermann: Atlas on the History of Islam
This is not only an atlas with numerous maps that illustrate the history of Islam from its origins through the modern age. At the same time it uses numerous articles, charts and pictures to convey much more information about Islam in the Near and Middle East, in Europe and North Africa than the title would allow one to assume.
Ursula Neumann (Ed.): Islamic Theology: International Contributions to the Hamburg Debate
This book presents a debate from March 2001 that dealt with the issue of establishing a professorship for Islamic Theology at the University of Hamburg. By way of this professorship Muslim teachers would receive academic training in Islam; thus, it was thought, leaders of mosques (Imams), teachers at Koran schools and religion teachers would be trained in Germany.
“Da’wah” today: The Islamic call to Faith and Islamic PR Activities
The concept of Da’wah derives its meaning from the Arabic verb da’a = to call, to invite. Da’wah is therefore an imperative duty for all Muslims, namely to invite others to accept the truth of Islam.
Women in Islam: the Provisions of Islamic marriage law
The public debate over women’s role in Islam tends in the West to centre round the issue of the head-scarf, seen as symbolizing women’s inferiority, yet not all practising Muslim women wear the scarf and not all of them are of the opinion that this is undispensable. In fact it is Islamic marriage law which cements women’s inferior legal status as divinely ordained.
Islamic Feminism as an Effort towards Renewal and Modernization
The events of September 11, 2001 and the subsequent reactions have moved the Islamic faith – and especially Islamic extremism into the public limelight and made it an on-going topic of discussion. While the opinions of politically active Muslims (Islamists) or extremists have increasingly become media topics, liberal Muslims are presented in much less detail. Islamic feminism may be considered one form of liberal Islam. It is characterized by the following aspects:
Hans Zehetmair (Ed): Islam in Tension between Conflict and Dialogue
The Berlin Wall no longer exists, and Hans Zehetmair hopes that there will not be any insurmountable hindrance between Islam and Europe in the future. The chairman of the “Hanns Seidel Foundation” has edited a collection of essays, which aims at offering background information as a necessary tool for those who want to build bridges between the Orient and the Occident.
Hamid Molla Djafari: God Has the most Beautiful Names
In the Koran we read: “The most beautiful names belong to Allah. So call on him by them” (surah 7.180). “The most beautiful names” are understood by Muslim theologians as names and attributes of God which are used during prayer, Sufi-meditation or while saying the rosary. God’s names are important as God has not revealed himself in Islam, as Muslim theologians hold, but has only sent down his Holy Book, the Koran.
