Bilal Ansari, Faculty Associate in Muslim Pastoral Theology, presented at a 2019 conference in Germany on Muslim Religious Leadership in Europe and North America. The international conference brought together experts from 14 different countries to discuss the issues around Imam training, and Dr. Ansari represented Hartford Seminary.

As a followup, the conference has published a report in both German and English. Download the full report here.

The conference’s main conclusions were:

• While academic knowledge about the current situation and the possibilities of training Muslim religious staff in Europe and North America is still rather limited, the attention this topic receives both in the academic and public spheres is growing.
• Opportunities for achieving qualifications on an academic level are quite limited, and they usually comprise nothing more than basic training courses or specific part-time supplementary seminars in some European and North American countries.
• To address this deficit, some Islamic faith communities have created their own training programmes, but these are often restricted to members of their own organisation and do not always take place in the respective national language.

Dr. Ansari presented on the academic training offered at Hartford Seminary and how it addresses a need for Muslim religious leaders.

Thanks for representing us, Bilal!