MOSAIK - Interreligious Dialogue

MOSAIK is the name of the first interreligious dialogue at the University of Kassel. It was founded in the summer semester in cooperation with the Institute for Protestant Theology and the Muslim University Community of the University of Kassel and is a university project. All students of the university should have the opportunity to participate in this dialogue. Similar to an interreligious dialogue, a MOSAIK consists of many smaller, individual elements, which in their entirety create a completely new structure.

What is an interfaith dialogue anyway?

In this dialogue, students of different faiths, different majors, different backgrounds meet and benefit from each other through dialogue. Last semester, the dialogue consisted of participants from all three world religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

"Even though I was very open to and respectful of other religions before the seminar, I am now much more aware of positively noticing people of other religions and advocating for them in conversations." - Lena, secondary school teacher

What happens there.

In an interreligious dialogue, topics such as "Religion in my family, in my circle of friends," "How do I encounter the other?", "Me in my job in a multi-religious society," among others, are discussed, which allows the individual participants to learn more about each other's actual lived faith. The excursions to the synagogue, the mosque and the church also helped to break down the "foreign" more and more.

"Through the seminar I became aware once again that religion is something individual for everyone and that this only leads to a broadening of horizons, togetherness and tolerance through a personal conversation." - Lina, Psychology

What can you expect from us?

You can expect humanity, scientific reference, transparency, respect and politeness, both in agreeing and disagreeing situations that can arise in a dialogue. You will find that interfaith helps you to know better not only the other religion, but also your own religion. You will notice that you will strengthen your empathy, reflection, dialogue behavior, sensitivity and other skills through dialogue. The experiences of the last semester have shown: Participants became acquaintances, and seminar conversations turned into conversations that continued beyond the seminar.

"Particularly in learning together, in conversations, and through visits to monotheistic houses of worship, a sense of what the world's religions have in common developed. Such commonalities would, of course, have to be justified in theologically precise terms, and differences should not be negated either. Ultimately, however, it is commonalities among religious people that can lead to genuine dialogue and exchange." - Klaus, teaching at vocational schools

Can I get credit for this seminar even if I am not studying Protestant theology?

Since students of different courses of study participate, it has to be looked at individually. Students of Protestant and Catholic Theology can receive credit for the seminar based on the MPOs of the subject. In the other study programs there is the possibility to have the seminar credited as a key qualification and to receive credits accordingly.Please check with your department head.Credit is possible in many subjects!In case of complications, please contact the MHG director or Katharina Gaida. It is our concern to make it possible for you to participate!

Would you like to learn more about interfaith work at the University of Kassel? Click here for more information:

When.

Click here for the event and the most important information for SoSe19.

Where.

Room 1001 (SWET), Kurt-Wolters-Str. 5

Presentation of the seminar leader

My name is Lina Hout and I study Psychology in the 3rd semester in the Master. I work as a student assistant at the Institute of Protestant Theology for interreligious dialogue and as a contact person for Muslim students. In addition, I have been a board member of the Muslim University Community Kassel since 2015. Due to the positive experiences with interreligious dialogue from my hometown Karlsruhe, I was motivated to build something similar in Kassel. For me personally, the diversity of different religions and cultures is a broadening of horizons that I wouldn't want to miss. It is a give and take. We wanted to pass on this experience of diversity to the students of the University of Kassel, which is why I founded MOSAIK together with Katharina Gaida and Anita Dacic. In this framework, every student should be able to speak openly about his or her spiritual thoughts and have a space for self-reflection. But it is also intended to gain more transparency and sensitization towards one's own as well as towards other religions.

Since the beginning of the 2018 summer semester, I have been employed as a student assistant at the Institute of Theology under Ms. Freudenberger-Lötz. Together with my colleague Lina Hout, I am the contact person for interreligious affairs and, together with her and Katharina Gaida, I lead the first interreligious dialogue MOSAIK at the University of Kassel.The interreligious dialogue has always been exciting and important to me, because it gives the participants insights into something that was totally foreign to them before. This allows the participants to develop empathy and understanding, which is valuable for a future teacher and in general in the further professional life.My experience at MOSAIK: In a group work, a Jewish fellow student told about her festivals and about how she lives out her faith. This moment moved me insanely, because this was my first contact with a Jewish woman. So many indescribable emotions in that brief moment. I also met so many wonderful people who will definitely be enriching for my future.

My work and research focus is on interreligious education. Together with Anita Dacic and Lina Hout, I founded and led the first interreligious dialogue at the University of Kassel: MOSAIK. Through my teacher training studies and my teaching time at schools, I was able to experience everyday school life first hand. When I observed my students like this, I saw MUCH DIVERSITY. I don't just mean that the students - each and every one of them - are unique. By diversity, I also mean the different cultures, religions, family constellations, circles of friends, and many other things that shape the children. In my opinion, our task as teachers should be to prepare for this as well as possible so that we can do justice to the children in this diversity and strengthen them in their ego. This is where I see the great importance of interreligious learning. On the one hand, you as students work specifically in and on current social structures, and on the other hand, you can make a decisive contribution to breaking down prejudices among children/adolescents/adults and helping them to see religious diversity as an enrichment. Interfaith work can be a good preparation and a great opportunity for you as a future teacher to be able to react with more empathy, sensitivity and knowledge to situations within the classroom. In all my events, I am particularly concerned that you reflect on yourself personally as a student, but also as a teacher, and gain an approach to interfaith education that is appropriate for you.