About us
Institut Buhara is a registered supplementary school (Ergänzungsschule) in Berlin-Lichtenberg. Since 2008 we have been training young Muslims, most of them born and raised in Germany, to become imams and theologians – firmly rooted in the classical Islamic sciences and at home in the language and culture of the country they live in.
Our mission
Our mission is to train imams and theologians here in Germany. Since the 1960s, the Muslim population in Germany alone has grown to around 4.5 million. Yet many imams come from abroad for only a few years, struggle with the language and find it hard to settle into society here. We are convinced that this gap can only be closed for good by training our own imams.
Our Vision
We want our graduates to be fully at home in the language and culture of the country they live in. That way they can serve their Muslim brothers and sisters better, while explaining Islam clearly and authentically to their non-Muslim neighbours, friends and anyone who is interested – as bridge-builders between community and society.
Our values
Our name recalls the historic city of Bukhara in present-day Uzbekistan, home to great scholars such as Imam al-Bukhari and Shah Naqshband. We bear their name out of respect for their legacy and because we teach along their path. In that tradition we stand for sound knowledge, good character (adab), responsibility towards the community and respect for every person.
Our past
Institut Buhara grew out of many years of work by the founders and members of the Semerkand association. After some five years as an association, Institut Buhara was founded in 2008 as a supplementary school under German law. It is registered at the Charlottenburg District Court (VR 22453 B) and with the Berlin Senate Department for Education as a supplementary school.
Regular teaching began on 1 January 2009 with two classes of around 20 students each. Over the following years the number of students grew so much that our rooms reached their limits. At the beginning of 2018 we therefore changed our original seven-year curriculum – one preparatory year, three years of foundation studies and three years of main studies – into a four-year programme focused on the main studies.
Our Institute Building
Our institute is located in Berlin-Lichtenberg. On a plot of around 5,000 m² stands a three-storey building with a footprint of about 800 m² and roughly 2,400 m² of usable floor space.
The building has an eventful past: in GDR times it was used by the Soviet armed forces, and after reunification by Deutsche Bahn. Following the railway's privatisation it stood empty for many years, until we took it over and fully renovated it.
The ground floor houses the classrooms, the principal's office, a library and a meeting room. On the first floor there is a 650 m² hall for events and school sports, as well as an assembly hall of around 140 m². The lower floor contains dormitories for up to 60 students, a modern kitchen, a dining hall, and washing and recreation rooms.
The building is surrounded by modern outdoor grounds with a football pitch and basketball court, table-tennis tables, bicycle parking and ample parking spaces – including accessible ones.
