The Central Mosque of Cologne received permission from the local authorities to broadcast its muezzin call to prayer every Friday. The first such call took place on 14 October and attracted significant attention from German media. 

The Al Fozan mosque was inaugurated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself in 2018 and is run by the Turkish government’s religious affairs authority in Germany (DITIB) The latter is referred to by the European Conservative as a controversial organisation with alleged ties to radical Islamist groups. 

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The general secretary of DITIB Abdurrahman Atasoy expressed his satisfaction with the city’s decision. “We’re very happy […] The public call to prayer is a sign that Muslims are at home here,” – he said during a press conference. 

The mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, expressed her belief that allowing the muezzin to be heard was “a sign of respect” toward the more than 100,000 Muslims residing in the Western German city.

The reactions to Reker’s decision were not unanimous. For example, Ahmad Mansour, an expert on Islamism and integration, accused the mayor of Cologne of “criminal naivety” for allowing the muezzin’s call for prayer. 

Mansour denounced “a demonstration of the power of political Islam.” and “an important step towards the Islamisation of Europe.” He added that Germans could expect further demands from the Muslim minority, such as the introduction of public Islamic holidays.

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German Jewish commentator and author Henryk M. Broder referred to the matter during an interview with Welt. “We will let the muezzin be heard once church bells ring in Saudi Arabia”, – he commented somewhat playfully. 

Image: mosqpedia.org

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen