The Swiss Center Islam and Society (CSIS) of the University of Friborg celebrates its 10th anniversary, a birthday that will be marked on May 6. The usefulness of the center is no longer disputed, consider its co -directors Amir Dziri and Hansjörg Schmid, in an interview with freedom.
The CSIS, whose objective aims to contribute to living together in a plural society, has been able to make a place. “Society expects an expertise from us. And on the other hand, there is the logic of research, which involves avoiding political or ideological positioning,” said Amir Dziri. “It’s always a little delicate.”
According to the co -director, the existence of the CSIS is no longer fought Today. “In any case not in its essence,” he said in this interview published on Tuesday. “Most of our interlocutors find it important to have a skills center that facilitates debate and allows you to create a basis of scientific expertise.”
Difficult start
For the record, in 2015, when it was launched, the CSIS had encountered the UDC opposition. The latter had gone to the Federal Court to defend her initiative requesting the closure of the Friborg Institute. “Yes, that has marked us a lot,” recalls Hansjörg Schmid, the other co -director.
“The first two years, we often had to respond to criticism, but that also led us to communicate in a very clear and intense way,” he said. “We were immediately in contact with many political actors, civil society and the media. At the beginning, we were very cautious on certain subjects”.
-“Because they were a source of misunderstandings,” said Hansjörg Schmid. “Regarding imams, we were seen as a kind of religious school, which was not in our intentions. We focused more on our continuing education on the function of imams for integration or as an interlocutor of the authorities.”
Second phase
“There was a second phase of protest, when a national councilor launched a postulate to cut federal subsidies,” recalls Hansjörg Schmid. An assessment has been ordered. “Released in August 2023, she judged unfounded criticism and believes that the work provided by the CSIS is very useful for society.”
The Center considers to have kept a critical look. “For example, we have set up training on radicalization or published a study on anti -Semitism in a Muslim context”, explains Amir Dziri. “Our role is not to be lawyers for Islam,” said his colleague Professor Hansjörg Schmid.
When it was created, the CSIS was a very small structure. Today it offers 13 full -time equivalent positions (EPT), or 4.5 registered in the university budget and 8.5 from third -party funds, such as the Swiss National Fund or the Mercator Foundation, and conducts a varied activity between research, education and continuing education.
This article was published automatically. Source: ATS
