Professionalizing the Imam in Europe: Imam Training Programs as Sites of Deliberative Engagement

This article discusses the first experiences of a supplementary imam training program that has been designed in the Netherlands for community-based imams, female religious leaders and mosque committee members. This “Professionalization of Imams in the Netherlands” program (PIN) was set up as a cooperation of the Representative Council of Muslims (CMO) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, supported by state-subsidy. The article discusses how the initiators maneuvered within and beyond the politicized burden of expectation that has surrounded the establishment of European-based imam training progra... Mehr ...