At the central mosque of the Turkish-Islamic Union Ditib in Cologne, a muezzin called for prayer through two loudspeakers for the first time on Friday. The scream lasted less than five minutes and could only be heard in the immediate vicinity of the mosque. You heard nothing across the street.
Some people demonstrated in front of the mosque with chants and banners against the muezzin call and the oppression of women in Iran. One of their banners read: “No muezzin call in Cologne! The public space must be ideologically neutral”.
Mayor: Call cannot be declined
Its reputation was made possible by the mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker. The non-partisan politician believes that the appeal to the Muslims cannot be denied because of the freedom of religion guaranteed in the constitution.
Abdurrahman Atasoy, deputy chairman of the federal association Ditib, said he was “very happy” with the contract signed with the city of Cologne. “The public call to prayer is a sign that Muslims feel at home.” From “invisible and wasteful backyard mosques” they have now made it the mainstream of society. “The core message of this long process is that Muslims, with their representative mosques as a visible part and with their call to prayer as an audible part, have finally arrived and been accepted by society.”
Victory for Islamist hardliners?
The director of the Frankfurt research center Global Islam, Susanne Schröter, fears that the public muezzin call from “Islamist hardliners” could be interpreted as a “point victory”. “I’m just scared,” the expert told WDR on Friday. “And then that this signal also goes to the Turkish president.” But it is also clear that in Germany there is freedom of religion and also freedom of religion.
The Ditib is subordinate to the Turkish religious authority. Cologne Central Mosque was personally opened in 2018 by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Catholic aid organization Missio said it sees the muezzin call as a “sign of normalcy in an open society”. However, this also means that Ditib has a responsibility to campaign for the religious freedom of Christians in Turkey. In everyday life, they often felt like second-class citizens.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
