Are there any Muslims in your community who volunteer for the fire brigade? With this introductory question, the staff of the Eugen Biser Foundation gained an insight into the cooperation with Muslims in Bavarian municipalities and cities. This led to the creation of the needs assessment "Brückenbauer in Bayern". It is the basis for the model of municipal Islamic counselling services in Bavaria, which will start its work in 2019. And as for the question of the fire brigade: there should be quite a few, because about 650,000 Muslims live in the state of Bavaria - this means that Bavaria has the third largest Muslim population of all the German states.
The Bavarian Islam Advisory Service is based at the Eugen Biser Foundation in Munich. It is managed by a team of four independent experts: Simone Trägner has overall responsibility, supported by Stefan Zinsmeister, Kübra Kısa and Anna Petrova. Together they respond to enquiries from local authorities and Muslim organisations in Bavaria. Other institutions can also contact the Islamic Counselling Centre, as there are many questions: Is there an Islamic chaplain in the hospital? Is an imam always the right person to talk to in a mosque? Where can young Muslims apply for funding for their youth work? Advice is free of charge and can be given on the spot, by telephone or by e-mail, depending on the case.
The Eugen Biser Foundation is supported by its partners, the Erlangen Centre for Islam and Law in Europe (EZIRE) and the Robert Bosch Foundation. EZIRE is contributing its expertise to the project, providing a scientific basis for the advice. The Robert Bosch Foundation, as the third partner, is not only involved in the financing of the project, but also contributes to the content with its experience in providing advice on Islam in Baden-Württemberg.
Frank Eppler
