Abstracts
Abstract
Over the past decades, the number of (practicing) Muslims increased visibly in Belgium, but present Church-State regulations are not adequately adapted to accommodate the diversity of Muslim communities. This has also repercussions for the training of imams. In this contribution, I will briefly sketch the state of the art of this training in Belgium. In order to do so, I will start with an elaboration of Church-State relations in Belgium, where Islam has been one of the seven recognized religions since 1974. Subsequently, attention will be given to the local recognition of mosques and to recent changes on this matter. Furthermore, I will focus on the recent attempt to establish a ‘Belgian’ imam-training and on the reasons for its failure. Finally, some recommendations for improvement will be made.
Résumé
Depuis plusieurs décennies, le nombre de musulmans (pratiquants) a considérablement augmenté en Belgique, mais la législation sur les cultes ne permet pas de prendre en compte la diversité des communautés musulmanes. Cela a aussi des effets sur la formation des imams. Dans cet article, je tracerai à grand traits l’état de cette formation en Belgique. Pour cela, je commencerai par des remarques sur les rapports entre Églises et État en Belgique, où l’islam est une des sept religions reconnues depuis 1974. Ensuite, je m’intéresserai à la reconnaissance des mosquées au niveau local et aux évolutions récentes en la matière. Après cela, je me concentrerai sur les tentatives récentes pour créer une formation « belge » des imams, et les raisons de leur échec. Enfin, je ferai quelques recommandations pour améliorer la situation.
Appendices
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