The head of the Protestant Church in Germany has called for Islam to be taught in state schools to prevent radicalisation of young Muslims.

Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm told the Heilbronner Stimme newspaper that teaching Islam in schools nationwide would give Muslim pupils a chance to take a critical approach to their own religion.

The hope is that this would make them impervious to the "temptation of fundamentalists".

Bedford-Strohm said all faiths in Germany must be compatible with the country's democratic constitution.

"Tolerance, religious freedom and freedom of conscience must apply to all religions," he said in the interview, published on Friday.

He said Islamic associations in Germany should be responsible for these courses and hoped they would organise themselves to be a 'clear partner' for the German state.

Seven of Germany's 16 federal states offer some form of Islamic religion classes in their schools, similar to the Catholic and Protestant religion classes they have traditionally had.

Germany has about 4 million Muslims, about 5 per cent of the total population.

There has been a sharp rise in right-wing sentiment in Germany since Chancellor Angela Merkel adopted an open-door policy towards migration, allowing more than one million refugees and migrants into the country. The policy has hardened German attitudes towards migration and Merkel has since adopted a tougher approach.

This has fuelled the rise of anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany, which maintains that Islam violates the constitution and wants a ban on minarets and face veils.

Figures released yesterday showed there has been an increase in crimes related to extremist right-wing activity in Germany. In 2015 there were 23,000 attacks, according to the BBC, a 35 per cent increase on the year before.

Addtional Reporting by Reuters.