Christians Under Attack

Muhammad Kalisch, who converted to Islam as a teenager, chairs one of the few departments at a German university dedicated to training teachers of Islam in schools.

 

The university did not disclose why Kalisch renounced Islam.

 

"From the perspective of the university, this will not carry consequences," a spokesman told the German Press Agency dpa.

 

He added that it is not crucial for a professor of Islam to be a Muslim. The university would not confirm whether Kalisch intended to stay in his post.

 

Kalisch, 44, upset the Muslim community in 2008 by writing that there was no historical evidence of the Prophet Mohammed's existence, prompting Muslim organizations to warn students away from him.

 

At the time, the state of North Rhine Westphalia also agreed to set up a new chair of Islamic education at the university, so students had the option of training under another scholar.

 

Germany is gradually introducing Islam classes for Muslim children in public schools. An estimated 4 million people of Muslim background live in Germany, making up 5 per cent of the country's population.

 http://www.earthtimes.org/