Turkey to open imam training school in France

A dedicated training institute for imams will be opened in Strasbourg as part of an agreement between France and Turkey. 

Turkey will fund the first dedicated imam training institute in France Reuters

From January 2013, the “Free Faculty of Islamic Theology” will offer training courses for 30 French students, including women.

The project, the first of its kind in France, is being completely financed by Turkey and donations, and will involve spending two million euros to turn a former training centre for postal workers into the imam faculty.

Qualifications earned at the institute will be validated by the University of Istanbul.

“It is important that we have the support of Turkey, which is a secular state with some 50 years of experience teaching imams in a secular context,” the president of the institute, Murat Ercan, told news agency Reuters.

“It is also important that we recruit students who understand the reality of France and have integrated the values of the republic,” the 43-year old said.

He added that Strasbourg was chosen because of its long commitment to religious equality.

At the moment, imam training is being offered at places such as the Union of Islamic Organisations in France and the Great Mosque of Paris.

Since 2008, the Catholic Institute of Paris has also been giving courses for future imams.