Cologne Central Mosque
The Cologne Mosque project is a project by German Muslims to build a large, representative Zentralmoschee (central mosque)[1] in Cologne, Germany. The project was approved by the City Hall, but sparked controversy and has not yet received a final building permit.[2]
Proposed mosque
The 48,000-square-foot mosque will cost £15-20 million to build,[3] aiming to house 2,000 to 4,000 worshippers.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The proposed mosque will be funded by Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği (DITIB), a branch of the Turkish government's religious affairs authority.[4], bank loans, and donations from 884 Muslim associations.[5] Cologne's St. Theodore Catholic Church has also decided to fundraise for the mosque.[6] The architect of the mosque is Paul Böhm,[7] who specializes in building churches.[8]
The planned mosque would be in the Ottoman architecture style. It would have a concrete and glass dome, and two 55 meter high minarets.[4] The mosque will have the bazaar and entrance on the ground floor, lecture halls in the basement, the prayer area on the upper floor and include a Muslim library.[2] A well is intended to be placed in the center to connect the two levels and to create a pleasant atmosphere. The mosque consists of flat-like wall screens which form a dome in the center.[1]
It will also have glass walls, which according to DITIB spokesman Alboga will give visitors a feeling of openness.[9] According to the architect, openness is further enhanced by an inviting staircase from the street, and the structure symbolizes "a place where religions could meet".[8] The developers have required that the secular areas of the mosque (e.g. the restaurant, event halls and stores) be a forum open to people from all confessions.[8]
DITIB said it took many steps to "avoid touching nerves". The organization agreed to various stipulations, including a ban on broadcasting the call to prayer over loudspeakers outside the building. The mosque is not taller than any of its neighbors; it is flanked by office buildings, and dwarfed by a nearby television tower. [10] The height of the minarets is about a one-third the height of the cathedral’s spires.[10] According to Mark Landler, Cologne's skyline, featuring the greatest Gothic cathedral in Germany and more than a dozen Romanesque churches, would not be altered by adding a pair of fluted minarets.[9] The mosque will be situated two miles from the Cologne cathedral.[3]
Although initially DITIB it was reluctant,[4] it later planned to shorten the minarets, a compromise welcomed by Cologne mayor Schramma. However, the plans were dropped after the architects said the plan would leave the minarets out of proportion with the rest of the building and surrounding structures.[11]
Reasons for construction
The new mosque will replace the current mosque, which can house up to 600 worshipers, and which is located on the site of a former pharmaceutical factory.
The current mosque is deemed inadequate for Cologne's 120,000 Muslims.[12] who comprise 12% of the city's population.[3] Its small size has created hardships for Cologne's Muslims, especially during festivals, when the mosque attendees must worship in the parking lot.[2] Cologne also has nearly 30 other mosques, but most are not visible as they are situated in hidden courtyards and converted factories.[10]
Controversy
The plan has been criticized by local residents, a local right-wing group, and by the German-Jewish author Ralph Giordano.[10][9][3]
Jörg Uckermann, the district's deputy mayor, has criticized the project saying that "We don't want to build a Turkish ghetto in Ehrenfeld. I know about Londonistan and I don't want that here."[3]
Local politician Markus Wiener, of the right-wing group Pro Köln, expressed his fear that the Cologne mosque will empower the Muslim population too much.[13] Pro Köln, which holds 5 of the 90 seats in the city council, collected 23,000 signatures on a petition demanding the halting of the project. The city, however, says only 15,000 of them were genuine. On June 16, 2007, 200 people gathered in a protest organized by Pro Cologne against the mosque with representatives from the Austrian Freedom Party and the Belgian Vlaams Belang[2][10] In response, Turkish leaders and Cologne's deputy mayor held a counter demonstration.[10]
The prominent German-Jewish author Ralph Giordano stated that he opposed the project as the mosque would be "an expression of the creeping Islamization of our land" and a "declaration of war".[13] He also stated that he wouldn't want to see women wearing burqas on German streets, calling them "human penguins". Henryk M. Broder, a Jewish journalist, disagrees Giordano's characterization of Muslim women as "human penguins" but said that "A mosque is more than a church or a synagogue. It is a political statement."[10] Giordano's remarks have turned the local dispute into a national debate about the place of Islam in Germany.[10] and other prominent Germans criticized the project as well. District mayor Uckermann stated that Giordano's comments "broke down the wall. Before if you criticised this monstrous mosque you were a Nazi. But we have a problem with the integration of Muslims. It's a question of language and culture."[3]
The city's mayor, Fritz Schramma, who supports the project said that "For me, it is self-evident that the Muslims need to have a prestigious place of worship, but it bothers me when people have lived here for 35 years and they don’t speak a single word of German."[10]
Christian leaders have taken similarly ambivalent stances: the Catholic Church has long supported the project, though recently Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, has been more cautious: when asked if he was afraid of the mosque, he said, "I don't want to say I'm afraid, but I have an uneasy feeling."[9] He also stated that Turkey should allow its Christian minorities equivalent rights. He said the mosque would change the skyline of Cologne.[4] Wolfgang Huber, Germany's top Protestant bishop, criticized the "male domination" he saw in Islam and said Muslims should be able to convert to Christianity without fearing reprisals.[4]
Public opinion seems "guardedly supportive, with a majority of residents saying they favor it".[9]A poll taken by a local newspaper among 500 Cologne residents showed that the project is supported by 63%, of whom 27% want its size to be reduced[10][14], though the poll's statistical validity has been questioned.[9][10]
Bekir Alboga of DITIB has argued that the criticism blurred the the line between frank debate and racist demagoguery.[10]
The Cologne mosque project is contrasted with a more successful mosque project in Duisburg, Germany. In the case of Duisburg, there was co-operation and good communication between German politicians, church and community leaders and the developers of the mosque.[13][15]
References
- ^ a b Böhm, Plul. "ZENTRALMOSCHEE KÖLN" (in German). Retrieved 2007-09-16. (English translation)
- ^ a b c d Tempers flare in German mosque dispute. One Local News
- ^ a b c d e f Huge mosque stirs protests in Cologne Telegraph.co.uk
- ^ a b c d e Turks’ plans to build mosque in Germany divides religions. Today's Zaman. Retrieved July 8th, 2007
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Guardianwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Catholic church collects money for mosque". Expatica. March 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Mosque project stirs concerns about the integration of Islam in Germany". Detroit Free Press. August 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c ""Muslims Should Not Try to Hide"". Qantara. October 5, 2006. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e f International Herald Tribune, Effort to build a large mosque rattles some in Cologne
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Germans Split Over a Mosque and the Role of Islam. New York Times
- ^ Plans to lower height of Cologne mosque dropped
- ^ Cologne mosque divides religions in Germany. Reuters
- ^ a b c Harris, Emily (October 11, 2007). "Two Mosques, Two Different Reactions in Germany". National Public Radio]. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Omniquest: Neubau einer Zentralmoschee in Ehrenfeld (PDF), published Kölner Stadtanzeiger, Juni 19, 2007
- ^ "Constructing conflict". The Economist. August 30, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
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