10 years of Islamic affairs counseling: building bridges for a better coexistence in communities

• The Robert Bosch Stiftung model project has been working for ten years to improve mutual understanding between municipal administrations and Muslim associations and organizations.
• Since 2015, around 400 consultations and 60 further training courses on Islam-related topics have been held in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, covering issues ranging from daycare centers to living wills for Muslims.
• Demand for the confidential and free service is consistently high.

Stuttgart, February 4, 2025 – Around 5.5 million Muslims live in Germany. Many of them were born here and are involved in Muslim associations and organizations that support society – from refugee aid to youth work. However, local authorities often have questions and feel uncertain about how to deal with Muslim organizations. This is where the Islamic affairs consultant comes in, which was launched ten years ago as a Robert Bosch Stiftung model project.

“With our Islamic affairs counseling, we have developed a model that enables a trusting exchange between local government and Muslim stakeholders,” says Dr. Raphaela Schweiger, team leader of Migration and Immigration Society at the Robert Bosch Stiftung. In most administrations, there is still a lack of knowledge about what needs to be considered when building a mosque or setting up an Islamic burial ground, for example. For the municipalities, in addition, local Muslim organizations are important partners in integration issues. “A better mutual understanding is the basis for joint decision-making processes – a very central setting of the course for social cohesion in communities,” Schweiger is convinced. The foundation has provided almost 2 million euros for Islamic affairs counseling since the project began.

The Islam affairs counseling was launched by the Robert Bosch Stiftung in Baden-Württemberg in 2015 and has also been active in Bavaria since 2019; after North Rhine-Westphalia, these are the two federal states with the largest number of Muslims. Around 400 counseling sessions and 60 training sessions have been held since then. In addition to providing an overview of the various Muslim organizations and movements, the topics range from questions about daycare centers to living wills for Muslims. The consultations take place on site and online, but also by phone and email.

The service is aimed at municipalities, educational institutions, welfare organizations, church parishes, Muslim communities and associations. “The advice is free and confidential,” explains Dr. Hussein Hamdan, who, as the first German Islamic affairs consultant, helped set up the project ten years ago. “In the beginning, there was a lot of skepticism. It was a challenge to build trust and get the stakeholders talking to each other,” Hamdan recalls. In the meantime, however, the Islam affairs counseling has shown in numerous cases that dialogue and practice-oriented support lead to concrete results. In particular, the classification of the numerous Islamic groups has helped to clarify the uncertainties in dealing with them that exist in many municipalities.

The model has proven itself and was adopted by the state of Baden-Württemberg, the Free State of Bavaria and the federal government. In the meantime, the concept has also been transferred to German-speaking countries, so that corresponding advisory processes are being implemented in Austria and Switzerland under the direction of Dr. Hussein Hamdan. “The great interest shows that Islamic counseling is still urgently needed in the communities,” says Dr. Hussein Hamdan. “Muslim life will be a permanent part of Germany and Europe. Municipalities have to prepare themselves to continuously deal with questions about Islam and the concerns of Muslims. This is where it will be decided whether integration and social participation will be successful.”