At least 780,000 Muslim students attend school in Germany. Nevertheless, only a fraction of them attend Islamic religious instruction. A recent study by Mediendienst Integration shows that in the 2025–2026 school year, approximately 84,300 students in seven federal states participated in Islamic religious instruction or Islamic studies. This means that these programs continue to reach only a portion of Muslim students. By comparison, in the 2015–2016 school year, the number was around 42,600 students. The number of participants has thus nearly doubled within ten years.
Why is participation still low?
One reason for the low participation is that many regions still lack sufficient programs and trained teachers. It is also possible that not all parents and students are aware that Islamic religious education is offered or know how to express their interest in it. In the federal states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, however, no such program is available.
“The availability of Islamic religious education is far from sufficient,” says Riem Spielhaus, professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Göttingen. “According to the Basic Law, religious education is a regular school subject.” Children of all religions have a right to it. However, according to Article 7, Paragraph 3 of the Basic Law, “religious education must be taught in accordance with the principles of the religious communities.” And when it comes to Islam, there is often a lack of recognized points of contact.
Major Differences Between the Federal States
Participation varies greatly from state to state. In Bavaria, approximately 15 percent of Muslim students attended state-organized Islamic religious instruction during the 2025–2026 school year. In North Rhine-Westphalia, the figure was about 7 percent; in Rhineland-Palatinate, 5 percent; and in Lower Saxony, just under 4 percent.
Baden-Württemberg also offers denominational Islamic religious instruction. In the 2025–2026 school year, 11,827 students participated in the program.
Situation in the Tübingen District
In response to an inquiry from tuenews INTERNATIONAL, the press office of the Regional Council provided information on Islamic religious instruction in the Tübingen District. In the 2026–2027 school year, the course will be offered at four schools: the Carlo-Schmid-Gymnasium and the Hans-Küng-Gemeinschaftsschule in Tübingen, the Eugen-Bolz-Gymnasium in Rottenburg, and the Hügelschule in Tübingen.
Further information:
https://mediendienst-integration.de/bevoelkerung/muslime-in-deutschland/islamischer-religionsunterricht-in-deutschland/
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