Hanover, Germany - A German state is to begin training its own Muslim clergy next year, offering a course at the University of Osnabrueck, an official said Monday.

The course will be the first ever for German-language imams and will be similar to theology-degree courses for Catholic priests, Lutheran ministers and Jewish rabbis at public universities.

Uwe Schuenemann, interior minister of Lower Saxony state, said the locally trained men would replace Turkish prayer leaders who usually only served three-year assignments at mosques in Germany and did not integrate.

Lower Saxony is funding the courses because local training for imams is vital to the integration of Muslim immigrants into German life, according to Schuenemann.

The courses are set to begin about October 2010. Schuenemann said various mosque associations has shown interest in employing the imams. Talks would begin next month with Islamic groups on the project.

Academics from three German universities, Osnabrueck, Braunschweig and Goettingen, are drawing up the syllabus. (dpa)