Publisher : Ministry of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia / Center for Islamic Theology, University of Münster -

2026

Scientific Evaluation of Islamic Religious Education in North Rhine-Westphalia

Conducted by the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster (directed by Mouhanad Khorchide) at the request of the Ministry of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, this final scientific evaluation report (Abschlussbericht zur wissenschaftlichen Evaluierung des islamischen Religionsunterrichtes in Nordrhein-Westfalen) assesses Islamic religious education in the schools of the Land over the 2023-2026 period. It was presented to the regional parliament on 21 January 2026.

Based on a survey of 353 students and 60 teachers, complemented by interviews, the evaluation concludes that this teaching has a positive effect on pupils (notably on tolerance and school climate) and recommends its expansion. Co-authored by Mouhanad Khorchide, Abdulkerim Şenel and Luisa Wellems, the report is a landmark contribution to the German debate on the place of Islam in state schools.

Réalisé par le Centre de théologie islamique de l’Université de Münster (dirigé par Mouhanad Khorchide) à la demande du ministère de l’Éducation de Rhénanie-du-Nord-Westphalie, ce rapport final d’évaluation scientifique (Abschlussbericht zur wissenschaftlichen Evaluierung des islamischen Religionsunterrichtes in Nordrhein-Westfalen) dresse le bilan de l’enseignement religieux islamique dans les écoles du Land sur la période 2023-2026. Il a été présenté au parlement régional le 21 janvier 2026.

Fondée sur une enquête auprès de 353 élèves et 60 enseignants, complétée d’entretiens, l’évaluation conclut à un effet positif de cet enseignement sur les élèves (notamment sur la tolérance et le climat scolaire) et recommande son extension. Le rapport, cosigné par Mouhanad Khorchide, Abdulkerim Şenel et Luisa Wellems, constitue une contribution de référence au débat allemand sur la place de l’islam dans l’école publique.

أنجز مركز اللاهوت الإسلامي بجامعة مونستر (بإشراف مهند خورشيد) هذا التقريرَ النهائيَّ للتقييم العلمي، بتكليفٍ من وزارة التعليم في ولاية شمال الراين-وستفاليا، وهو يقيّم تعليم الدين الإسلامي في مدارس الولاية خلال الفترة 2023-2026. وقد عُرض على برلمان الولاية في 21 يناير 2026.

واستناداً إلى استطلاعٍ شمل 353 تلميذاً و60 معلّماً، إلى جانب مقابلات، يخلص التقييم إلى أنّ لهذا التعليم أثراً إيجابياً في التلاميذ (لا سيّما في التسامح ومناخ المدرسة)، ويوصي بتوسيعه. والتقرير، الذي شارك في تأليفه مهند خورشيد وعبد الكريم شينال ولويزا فيليمس، يشكّل مساهمةً مرجعيةً في النقاش الألماني حول مكانة الإسلام في المدرسة العمومية.

Resources of this researcher

publication

The Nicene Creed and Islam: Debates on the Nizänum in the Qur’anic Surahs

Published in 2025 by Herder (192 pp.), Nizänum und Islam. Debatten des Nizänums in koranischen Suren, edited by Angelika Neuwirth, Dirk Hartwig and Mouhanad Khorchide (a researcher in the Pluriel n...

publication

Islamic environmental theology

A dedicated Islamic environmental theology is still a recent academic phenomenon. How can a contemporary environmental ethic be defined, which environmental theological approaches can be conceived?...

publication

The other prophet: Jesus in the Quran

Jesus is considered in Islam as one of the most important prophets, and in the Koran as a divine sign. Yet his place in Islam is not the same as in Christianity. In their unique book, Mouhanad Khor...

publication

Islam is charity: the foundations of a modern religion

For the first time in the German-speaking world: a contemporary Islamic theology. Mouhanad Khorchide shows how Islam can come from within itself to a self-understanding that makes a fundamental tur...

publication

Sharia – the misunderstood God: the way to a modern Islamic ethic

Presentation of the publisher Few terms refer to Islam as “sharia”. Mouhanad Khorchide, exploring new foundations of an Islamic theology (“Islam is mercy”) and in a renewed ...

publication

God believes in man: with Islam, towards a new humanism

The message of Mouhanad Khorchide is clear: we need a global humanism that pays tribute to the people as a global family. By recognizing its own potential, Islam can make a decisive contribution. M...

Resources related toIslam in Europe

article

Two Seas, One Course: The 2026 Jesuit Migrant Service Report on Spain’s Southern Border

  • Josep Buades

The annual report of the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), the social apostolate body of the Society of Jesus in Spain, written by Josep (Pep) Buades Fuster, examines the migratory dynamics of Spain’s ...

videos

From Lavigerie to PISAI: The Institutional History of the Missionaries of Africa’s Engagement with Islam

Delivered on 21 May 2026 at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in Rome, this lecture opens the series of conferences marking the institute's centenary (1926-2026). Fr. ...

videos

Interreligious Dialogue and Ethnic Nationalisms in the Balkans

At the invitation of PISAI (Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies, Rome) and Georgetown University, Ahmet Alibašić, professor of Islamic civilization at the Faculty of Islamic Studies...

article

“The Reception of Rūmī’s Work in France: Cultural Mediations, Symbolic Transfers and the Recomposition of Belief”, by Khalid El Khadiri

  • Khalid El Khadiri

In the journal La Clé des Langues (ENS de Lyon, March 2026), Khalid El Khadiri, a PhD candidate in the history and sociology of religions at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), examines th...

videos

Political and religious anarchism in the musical forms of rebel Islam: from rap to taqwacore

Paper presented at the fifth international congress of the University Platform for Research on Islam (Pluriel), held in Cordoba from 10 to 14 February 2026 on the theme "Ethics and Aesthetics in Is...

videos

From regulating religious sound to transforming it into light: public, legal and architectural debates on the adhān

Paper presented at the fifth international congress of the University Platform for Research on Islam (Pluriel), held in Cordoba from 10 to 14 February 2026 on the theme "Ethics and Aesthetics in Is...

publication

Scientific Evaluation of Islamic Religious Education in North Rhine-Westphalia

  • Mouhanad Khorchide

Conducted by the Center for Islamic Theology at the University of Münster (directed by Mouhanad Khorchide) at the request of the Ministry of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia, this final scientif...

article

The Immigrant-Origin Population in Spain (2025)

  • Josep Buades

Report of the Jesuit Migrant Service (SJM), prepared by Josep (Pep) Buades Fuster, offering a statistical portrait of the immigrant-origin population in Spain. It provides a framework for understan...