Cologne city authorities have approved a trial run of broadcasting the call to prayer from Germany’s largest mosque that is Cologne’s Central Mosque. But, with some restrictions.
On Fridays between noon and 3 pm, Cologne’s Central Mosque will be allowed to broadcast a single call to prayer over loudspeakers for up to 5 minutes. However, the volume must not exceed 60 decibels.
Officials from Cologne were going to sign the agreement on Thursday. It was part of a two-year pilot project. For your information, mosques in a few German cities have been able to broadcast the call to prayer for a long time. But, it was only in October of last year that the city of Cologne gave its approval.
“We’re very happy,”
“The public call to prayer is a sign that Muslims are at home here.”
— Abdurrahman Atasoy, general secretary of the Turkish-Islamic Ditib organization, told local media.
When asked about allowing the call to prayer, Cologne mayor Henriette Reker stated it was “a sign of respect” for the city’s Muslims.
On the other hand, the project has been controversial, especially because Ditib, which manages more than 900 mosques in Germany has close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Some people have said that the group is spying on Turkish dissidents who live in Germany.
Germany is home to many Muslims
Around six percent of Germany’s population is Muslim. Muslims make up over half of the country’s population growth. More than 100,000 Muslims call Cologne, home, which is also home to the iconic Dom Cathedral.
There’s enough room for 1,200 worshippers in the Central Mosque, a large glass and concrete building shaped like a flower bud and flanked by two minarets.
Source: Arab News