Panel: COOPERATION IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES



138.5 - ANTISEMITISM, ISLAM, AND EDUCATION: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS-PEDAGOGICAL RESPONSES IN AUSTRIAN SCHOOLS

AUTHORS:
Kramer M. (University of Vienna ~ Vienna ~ Austria)
Text:
Drawing on findings from a 2025 study on antisemitism in Austrian mosque communities—focusing on attitudes toward Jews, Judaism, and Israel—this paper examines existing didactic models, pedagogical guidelines, and educational recommendations aimed at addressing antisemitic attitudes within segments of the Muslim community, as these may also surface in school environments. The materials under analysis reflect both a source-oriented religious-theological dimension and a data-informed individual, societal, and political dimension, including issues such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, conspiracy theories, Holocaust remembrance, and cultures of memory. Educational resources produced by both state authorities and the Islamic Religious Community in Austria— intended or suitable for use in denominational and interreligious religious education—are reviewed and analyzed through selected examples of antisemitic and anti-Zionist resentment. The analysis draws on objective hermeneutics and comparative approaches to uncover underlying interpretive patterns relevant to pedagogical practice.