Protestant Christians and Muslims in Austria

An Orientation Guide

Initiators
The Orientation Guide was approved by the General Synod of the Protestant Churches A. B. (Augsburg Confession) and H. B. (Helvetic Confession) on occasion of the Synod in Leibnitz, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. Application for the Orientation Guide had been filed by the Theological Committee of the Synod A. B. and the General Synod with Hermann Miklas, Superintendent of the Diocese of Styria, as chairman. The Guide was compiled and finalized by the Theological Committee.

Responsible for coordination and content: Susanne Heine; text production: Susanne Heine, Gerold Lehner (Superintendent of the Diocese of Upper Austria). All (occasionally changing) members of the Committee contributed to the texts. Two Muslim theologians and scientists reviewed the material and recommended adjustments accordingly.

Occasion
The Orientation Guide originates from a meeting of the Theological Committee of the Protestant Churches´ General Synod in Austria which had taken place October 2011. It was decided to compile a separate Austrian paper, independent from the EKD (Protestant Church in Germany), on interreligious ways of approaching Muslims and Islam communities.

Target Groups
The document addresses teachers of religious education, pastors and officers in charge of Islam. It is a decidedly Protestant document, meant for Protestant communities in Austria.

Objectives
The Orientation Guide has been created for practical use. It aims at contributing to social peace in Austria and portraying the diversity of Islam. It is meant to function as a means for intensifying encounters between Christians and Muslims and to support the dialogue between members of both religions. The Orientation Guide is understood as an invitation to enter into Christian-Muslim dialogues with mosque communities as well as with Muslims in the neighborhoods (the latter through schools). In concrete cases, active cooperation of Muslims is welcome. Participation of Roman-Catholic and other religious communities are not ruled out.

Topics

  • History of Islam in general and history of Islam in Austria
  • Explication of commonalities and differences of both religions with respect to a range of current topics
  • Mutual appreciation; awareness of cultural bias and how to overcome it
  • Explication of Christian self-understanding, for Muslim inquiries
  • Support for meetings of Muslims and Christian
  • Perspectives on Islam with regard to its Arabic origins and the Arabic-Islamic culture

Duration
The document was approved Oct. 26, 2011 and is valid in the originally approved form to this day. The decision to compile an orientation guide had been made end of 2006 and was launched in February 2007 with a first study day for all synodal members interested in the project (lecturer: Islam Scholar Prof. Dr Rüdiger Lohlker). A second study day followed in June 2008 (lecturer: Prof. Dr Wolfram Reiss, Religious Studies). A first draft was completed in November 2008, a first version in September 2010. In April 2011 a closed, day-long meeting on the paper was held. In July 2011 the adaptations suggested by the Muslim reviewers were incorporated into the text. Finally, in September 2011, the document was handed to the President of the General Synod of the Protestant Churches A. B. and H. B. to be presented at the General Synod taking place October 2011.

Activities
Professor Heine lectures and holds courses on the subject on a regular basis, at universities, educational institutions and protestant as well as catholic parishes, in Austria and abroad.

Form of Organization
The „Orientierungshilfe“ is a synodal resolution of the Protestant Church A. B. (Augsburg Confession) and H. B. (Helvetic Confession).

Funding
All involved in the projects, including the authors, volunteered their services and worked without charging fees. The book publication was funded by the Protestant Churches in Austria.

Products

  • „Respektvoll miteinander. Evangelische Christen und Muslime in Österreich. Eine Orientierungshilfe“, Evangelischer Presseverband, Wien 2012.
    Available as PDF under: https://www.kirchenrecht.at/kabl/39353.pdf
  • Internet publication, Dec 21, 2011 in the official journal of the Protestant Churches in Austria (“Amtsblatt für die Evangelische Kirche in Österreich“)

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editor: jl / update: jk 2022