New French School Aims to Train Homegrown Muslim Leaders

This is the third school of its kind in France. Initiated by a very involved local figure in interfaith dialogue, Abdelhaq Nabaoui, 57, former president of the Regional Council of the Muslim Cult in Alsace, it comes to meet the aspirations of the Forum of Islam in France (Forif), which met for the first time on Saturday in Paris, reports Franceinfo.

"Today, there are not enough structures to train chaplains and imams," says the latter. "We need to act at the level of thought. An imam must be able to meet the expectations of Muslims, French society, but also to build bridges with other religions," said Nabaoui.

The objective is to allow students to participate in person or remotely in seminars of several days or several weeks, which will validate teaching units, and gradually the seminars will be transformed into continuous courses. "The training will last three years, and it will be sanctioned by a certificate," it was pointed out, specifying that the final level must be equivalent to a bachelor’s degree.

In addition, the school claims that there is no funding from abroad: it is the students who pay 800 euros per year to be trained. Abdelhaq Nabaoui hopes for a class of forty people next year and within five years, up to 500 students, some of whom will become the imams of the 2,500 French mosques.