Excerpt:
Having given birth to the Protestant Reformation and the current pope, Germany is now at the fore of a broad effort to foster a European theological tradition for a relative newcomer: Islam.
In a brightly lit university classroom in this small northwestern German city, some 30 German mosque leaders are participating in a government-backed course in inter-religious understanding. The experiment, one of many across the Continent, covers subjects ranging from the Reformation to the German constitution.
The deadly twin terror attacks in Norway on July 22, carried out by a fanatic who saw himself at war against the "Islamization" of the Continent, has refocused attention on Europe's decades-long reluctance to embrace its Muslim communities. There are more than 44 million Muslims living in Europe, according to a recent Pew Research Center study, about 6% of Europe's population. By 2030, that percentage will grow to 8%, the study projects.