The touring exhibition „What do you believe?! Muslims in Germany“ was conceived and designed by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education. It travels to schools and public institutions. Over the past few years, the exhibition was shown in Berlin, Bonn, Kiel, Hamburg, Bremen, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Dresden and Magdeburg, for example. The exhibition is geared at students from grades five and up. It features the facets of Islam and the everyday life of Muslims in Germany.

In fact, religion and matters of faith is only one of the many topics that shape the everyday life of young Muslims in Germany. Individual lifestyles, individual biographies and individual ways of life are of paramount importance – whereby the religion and faith of an individual does indeed play a major role.

The exhibition raises questions about the meaning of religion and also looks at the perception of social minorities. Young people are encouraged to ponder the various forms of mutual rejection and to develop positive views vis-à-vis cultural and religious diversity – especially with regard to the relationship between non-Muslims and Muslims. Animated films, comics and video portraits that were specially produced for the exhibition are used to convey to children and adolescents that Muslim life is indeed compatible with living in Germany.

An important element of the touring exhibition is a peer education program: School classes are guided through the exhibition by peers at the various exhibition locations. These peer guides are trained based on a concept that was conceived and implemented by ufuq.de in cooperation with the Anne Frank Zentrum.

At the exhibition locations, ufuq.de offers advanced training pertaining to Islam and Muslims for educators and disseminators. What is important here is the emphasis on acquiring an approving attitude toward different forms of religious expression and German-Muslim identities.

Contact

Dr. Jochen Müller (jochen.mueller@ufuq.de)

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