GERMAN Church BECOMES MOSQUE
"THE NEW Norm"by Soeren Kern
February 12, 2013 at 5:00 am HTTP://WWW.GATESTONEINSTITUTE.ORG/3585/GERMAN-CHURCH-BECOMES-MOSQUE
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Be the major of your friends to come to this. "Do not be important, the muezzin strength of mind not bellow from the minaret." - Daniel Abdin, Chairman, the Al-Nour Footing. Muslim policy to satisfy a main Lutheran church in the settlement of Hamburg in the sphere of a mosque is generating conflict crossways Germany.
From Berlinto Dortmund to M"onchengladbach, the decelerate intensify of mosques housed in main churches reflects the increase of Islam as the register rising religion in post-Christian Germany. In the highest behind chest, the church would be the major confident in the sphere of a mosque in the second-largest settlement in Germany.
The up to date dust-up involves the main Kapernaumkirche(Capernaum Church), positioned in the Horn neighborhood in downtown Hamburg. The church, a cultural heritage site, was isolated in 2002 for financial reasons due to undermining chipping in.
The household and an bring to a close 44 meter (144 resolve) tower/steeple as well as the approximately land was sold in 2005 to an swashbuckler, the Al-Nour Islamic Footing, which has about 600 members, mainly complete up of Arab Muslim immigrants from the Core East and North Africa.
The church is at present undergoing renovations at a regard of one million euros (1.4 million) and is listed to be reopened as a mosque on October 3, the Day of German Accord["Tag der Deutschen Einheit"], a group holiday commemorating the anniversary of German reunification in 1990. Muslims in Germany store also claimed October 3 as Naked Mosque Day["Tag der offenen Moschee"], a day like non-Muslims are legally recognized to distinguish mosques.
Necessary German correspondents store greeted the rumor with come out pessimism, and store published editorials with titles such as "In the same way as Mosques Swap over Churches, Neighborhood Allah, Christian on the Self-reliant, Muslim on the Concentrate," and "The New Norm."
But following and holy leaders store been above circumspect; a variety of store responded to the testimonial with a analysis of affect and solemn.
Marcus Weinberg, the leading light of the Christian Democratic Party (CDU) in Hamburg, said: "I am opposing to this. Level if the junction is legally tolerable, the rescue of a main church in the sphere of a mosque strength of mind do sec to aid cultural and holy coexistence in the cut up." He has appealed to settlement officials to ensure with the Al-Nour Footing to handle "good-looking household alternatives."
Helge Adolphsen, the main senior pastor of St. Michael's Church, the highest iconic church in Hamburg, said: "This is the violation of a dam."
According to Ulrich R"uss, a Lutheran pastor in northern Germany, converting the church in the sphere of a mosque is "counter-productive" and reveals "how far secularization and the shortening of the Islamic holy inquire to power has advanced in our camaraderie."
Roman Catholics store also spoken skepticism. Bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke said: "The rededication of a church in the sphere of a mosque is not in our occupation. The interchangeability of Christianity and Islam is not what is hypothetical by good inter-religious dialogue. Catholics are not in bend of replacing the religion college of a church clear come to that."
Catholic churches store not, but, been immune from becoming mosques.
In Duisburg, an official settlement in the northwestern part of the assert, everyplace the Roman Catholic Church a short time ago announced policy to push to several churches due to lowly send away, Muslims store set their sights on the sight Church of Saint Peter and Paul, the stay squander church in the Marxloh part of Duisburg. Late a group outcry greater rumors that the church would be confident in the sphere of a mosque, Roman Catholic officials fixed to stock the church open, at negligible for the time foundation.
All of the churches slated for closing are positioned in the rough Hamborn and Marxloh districts in northern Duisburg, everyplace Islam has otherwise replaced Christianity as the energetic religion, and everyplace several Catholic churches store otherwise been isolated in a last guard of church closings.
Duisburg, which has a unpleasant dwell in of 500,000, is home to re 100,000 principally Turkish Muslims, making it one of the highest Islamized cities in Germany.
Marxloh also happens to be home to the Duisburg Merkez Mosque, the chief mosque in Germany. Ended in 2008 at a regard of above than EUR7.5 million (10 million), the Ottoman-style mega-mosque can family above than 1,200 Muslim flock at a time.
Leaders of the Merkez Mosque manifestly average to turn the churches in Hamborn and Marxloh in the sphere of mosques and prayer centers that would purpose as extensions of the mega-mosque. According to the chairman of the Merkez Mosque, Mohammed Al, "Regardless of whether it is a church or a mosque, it is a categorize of God."
In Germany as a whole, above than 400 Roman Catholic churches and above than 100 Protestant churches store been blocked when 2000, according to one merit. At negligible 277 Protestant churches store been either sold or demolished when 1990, according to the Evangelical Church in Germany. Out of the ordinary 700 Roman Catholic churches are slated to be blocked greater the near several kick.
By put together, show are now above than 200 purpose-built mosques (including above than 40 so-called mega-mosques which can family 1,000 or above flock), 2,600 Muslim prayer halls and a stately tally of unconstitutional mosques in Germany, everyplace the Muslim dwell in has jumped from re 500,000 in the swift 1980s to above than four million today. Out of the ordinary 128 mosques are at present under making, according to the Zentralinstitut Islam-Archiv, a Muslim involvement based in Germany.
Shoulder in Hamburg, J"org Fromann of the Christian Democrats says renovations to the Capernaum Church duty be unlawful as the household is deliberate to be a ancient history goal. But he predicts that for following expediency, settlement officials strength of mind not goal the rescue of the church in the sphere of a mosque
In November 2012, the settlement of Hamburg signed a "give deal" with its Muslim communities that grants Muslims far-reaching new citizenship and constitutional rights -- but does sec to help their assimilation in the sphere of German camaraderie.
The ensure, signed by Hamburg's Leninist Mayor, Olaf Scholz, and the leaders of four Muslim umbrella groups, has been praised by the proponents of multiculturalism for putting the northern asylum city's unreal 200,000 Muslims on an similar wear with Christian population.
Not coincidentally, one of the signatories of the "sight deal" happens to be the Chairman of the Al-Nour Footing, Daniel Abdin, who is leading the treatment to satisfy the main church in the sphere of a mosque.
According to Fromann: "The Net and Hanseatic Town of Hamburg has guaranteed that Islamic holy communities store the rule, within the milieu of legally binding laws, to build and push mosques, prayer and gossip rooms, school institutions and other community organizations according to their own discretion. This includes ensuring the rule to offshoot Islamic mosques with domes and minarets."
Says Abdin: "Do not be important, the muezzin (the crier who calls the Muslim rightful to prayer five get older a day) strength of mind not bellow from the minaret." Reasonably at negligible not rule mumbled comment.
"Soeren Kern" is a Chief Fellow at the New York-based Gatestone Club". He is also Chief Fellow for European Politics at the Madrid-based Grupo de Estudios Estrat'egicos / Enter Studies Watch. Say him on Facebook"."
Aligned TOPICS: Germany Soeren Kern
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