German Muslim soldiers decry lack of Islamic counsel in army, demand imams

German Muslims have requested religious leaders “imams” from the Bundeswehr (German military) which already has Catholic and Protestant clergy for soldiers but no spiritual counsel for followers of Islam, even though the country’s Basic Law requires that all religions are officially treated equally and guarantees people the freedom to practice their faith without hindrance.

Petty officer Nariman Reinke, who is one of about 1,500 Muslim soldiers serving in the Bundeswehr, has expressed her frustration over being without religious representation in the army, in an interview to DW on Wednesday.

"During my missions in Afghanistan, I arranged for my body to be washed and wrapped in a shroud — I always carried my shroud with me in a bag," Reinke said.

Reinke has been serving in the military since 2005 and twice been deployed in Afghanistan.

The government has repeatedly stressed its formal support for a diverse Bundeswehr. On the other hand, opposition parties criticized the government's lack of progress concerning the employment of imams for Muslim soldiers.

The Social Democrats (SPD) have expressed their support for hiring imams, but the party's defense spokesman, Fritz Felgentreu, conceded that some issues have simply not been settled.

"The most important question is where the Bundeswehr will find imams whom the soldiers trust and whom they accept," said Felgentreu.

Officer Reinke, in her turn, stressed that the imams who took classes at Osnabrück University have no ties to foreign governments. "Without any qualms, they could be trained and employed accordingly," she said.