Imam training in Zurich. “In 15 years only German will be spoken in the mosque.”
With an eight-day course, the canton of Zurich is attempting to involve key figures in the Muslim community more in society. One of them is Imam Dzemil Pasic.
Dzemil Pasic’s working day currently starts before 6 a.m. and ends after 11 p.m. – because of the position of the sun. He is the imam and is therefore responsible for leading the five daily prayers. But that’s not all of his work: He serves his 800-strong congregation as a pastor, takes care of young people at weekends, and attends weddings and funerals. “That’s over 100 percent,” says Pasic. He has a profit: he is not the only imam in the Bosnian community in Schlieren, but receives support from a colleague.
The Bosnian had completed his master’s degree in religion and philosophy in Turkey – at that time he had no idea that he would soon be taking his love to Switzerland. He has been in Schlieren for five years now – and sees his situation self-critically: He wants to improve his German, do more integration work, continue his education. But there is neither the time nor the money: the mosque manages itself solely through donations and membership fees.
But not only time and money are scarce, but also the educational opportunities: There is no specific training for imams. The Canton of Zurich is therefore attempting to close this gap with the “Zurich Competence” pilot project. During eight days in three months this summer, twenty people who work in the vicinity of the mosque were trained – including Dzemil Pasic.
More wanted to take part than places were allocated – for Abduselam Halilovic, President of the Muslim umbrella organization, a confirmation: “It proves what we have been saying for years: there is a need for imam training”, with the offer you have one struck a nerve.
Not only imams were admitted, but also other people with central roles in the Muslim community such as religious teachers, youth workers or board members, who often work on a voluntary basis.
Trilateral Cooperation
The course was set up in cooperation with three players: the canton of Zurich, the association of Islamic organizations similar to Zurich Vioz, and the University of Fribourg, which itself already offers training at its Swiss Center for Islam and Society.
««Taking the need seriously and filling the gap is a state task – but not the implementation of the educational offer.»
Research associate at the Zurich Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs
The canton provided most of the funding and also provided some speakers. The canton deliberately stayed out of the content planning, says Myrta Grubenmann, project manager at the Zurich Directorate of Justice and Home Affairs.
“Taking the need seriously and filling the gap is a state task – but not the implementation of the educational offer,” she explains.
The program was therefore put together by Vioz in cooperation with the Swiss Center for Islam and Society at the University of Fribourg.
The courses revolve around communication and media work, writing a Friday sermon or working with young people. The latter in particular met with a great deal of interest, says Andrea Lang from the University of Freiburg, scientific director of the Zurich Competence Training.
Abduselam Halilovic explains the interest by saying that the Muslim community is younger than the overall population.
Is it a fact that most caregivers have a migration background, while many of the young people grew up here in Switzerland and are therefore socialized differently. “It was all the nicer to see that older and younger people were able to exchange ideas with one another in the course and that new impulses were created,” he says.
Speak German and make new contacts
The 32-year-old Dzemil Pasic also experienced this tension between the generations in his community. While the older people use the mosque environment to cultivate their language and culture, the children and young people feel more comfortable with the German language. Pasic’s goal: In the next few years he wants to learn to speak German fluently, because he is certain: “For the past 15 years, only German has been spoken in the mosque.”
For him, the further training also offered him the opportunity to speak German – something that he regrettably doesn’t get enough of in his everyday life, he says.
But what else does he take away from the training? Above all, Pasic emphasizes the new contacts he was able to make – with other Muslims, but also with the authorities and other religious communities. For example, he visited the evangelical church in Schlieren for a project integrated into further training.
The course did not answer all open questions. “But now I’m no longer alone with it, I have contacts,” Pasic concludes.
«“Now I am no longer alone with my questions, I have contacts.»
According to Andrea Lang from the University of Freiburg, one of the main goals of the course has been achieved: increasing the participation of the Muslim community in society. At the same time, the twenty participants should also spread what they have learned and their experiences in their environment, acting as so-called multipliers.
Grubenmann from the canton of Zurich also draws a positive interim conclusion. For the findings, however, the second implementation, which will take place next spring, must be awaited. Then it will be seen whether the further training in Zurich competence WILL survive pilot status.
Experience shows that financing remains a sticking point. The Canton of Zurich invested CHF 400,000 in the implementation of the project. But should the canton finance offers by individual religious communities at all? “A political question,” says Myrta Grubenmann.
Creative solutions are necessary
The problem: while the regional churches, for example, as religious communities recognized under public law in the canton, can apply for state contributions, the canton can only support Muslim organizations and associations on a project basis and only for a limited time.
Creative solutions are often required, says Abduselam Halilovic. This is also the example of Muslim pastoral care in the canton of Zurich: In 2017, the canton, also in cooperation with Vioz, launched an association for quality assurance of Muslim pastoral care in the canton: QuaMS. It has long since blossomed into a national role model and “has meanwhile become part of everyday interreligious cooperation,” the Zurich government council wrote in the minutes of a meeting a year ago.
While the club stands on its own two feet, the financial future is uncertain.
The original plan was for the canton to withdraw from funding this year and hand over responsibility to the Muslim community, otherwise it would have exceeded its spending powers – a completely unrealistic goal, says Vioz President Halilovic, who himself works as a pastor for QuaMS. “QuaMS’ budget exceeds Vioz’s overall budget several times over.” But Myrta Grubenmann also sees this as positive: “The demand for the offer was much greater than expected”, instead of the fifty uses per year estimated at the beginning, QuaMS now performs over 300 uses per year.
In order to guarantee the continued existence of Muslim pastoral care, the Zurich government council decided last summer to approve additional expenditure. With the contributions of the regional church, the Vioz and the federal government, the financing of the association is secured until 2024.
How things will continue after that is still uncertain. One thing is certain for Grubenmann: The current system no longer does justice to today’s increasingly religiously pluralized population. “The canton therefore has various options for ensuring permanent and stable financing for non-recognized religious communities.” Measures are also conceivable on a legal level – but such take time. This probably comes too late for the Zurich Competence project.
If it’s going to last longer, creative solutions are probably needed again.