Turkey will no longer send imams to German mosques - German ministry

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has agreed with Turkey to phase out a controversial programme that posts Turkish imams to German mosques, the interior ministry in Berlin announced on Thursday, saying that the move would boost the integration of Muslims in Germany.

Some 100 imams are to be trained in Germany each year, under an agreement between the ministry, Turkish religious authority Diyanet and Turkish Islamic association DITIB.

These imams will gradually replace Diyanet-employed clerics working in Germany, which has a large Turkish diaspora but has seen its government often spar politically with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, in power for two decades, and his Islamist-rooted AK party.

"We need clerics who speak our language, know our country and stand up for our values," German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said in a statement.

"This is an important milestone for the integration and participation of Muslim communities in Germany," she added.

DITIB, the largest Islamic association in Germany with some 900 mosques, has been the subject of political controversy in the country, most recently when an Afghan Taliban member spoke at one of its mosques in the western city of Cologne last month.

In 2017, German officials called on DITIB to undertake fundamental reforms following allegations that its imams sent by Diyanet had spied on behalf of Ankara. Diyanet denied any involvement and a probe was closed without any charges brought.

(Reporting by Rachel More and Alexander Ratz; Editing by Miranda Murray, Alexandra Hudson)