Frankfurt University is introducing a bachelor degree in Islamic studies, the first in Germany to teach Islamic theology using western academic methods, dpa quoted Frankfurt University as saying today. The three-year course will put Islamic theology on the same footing as Christian and Jewish theology at German universities, using methods of rational inquiry. That includes tracing the Koran back to its earliest textual form and how it evolved. The university said the course would cover the culture, history and theology of Islam. Another university, in Muenster, already has courses for public-school teachers taking Islamic religion classes for children. Other German university Islamic-studies courses are mainly about art or history only. The university said its introductory course would include an "introduction to historical and philological textual criticism" and students would also hear from philosophers and teachers familiar with the other religions. Germany's federal science and scholarship council recommended at the start of the year that universities set up Islamic studies departments to cater to the 5 per cent of the German population of Muslim background.
