Germany’s Muslim community is planning to more than double the number of mosques in the country over the next few years, according to figures released by the German Institute of Islamic Archives. Of some 1,200 institutions used as mosques in Germany, only 159 are recognisable mosques, serving a community that numbers over 3 million. The remaining are so-called “backyard mosques,” meaning they are in rooms in buildings that have other purposes or would not obviously appear to be mosques to unaware passers-by. In 2004, mosques with minarets numbered just 141. The growth in the construction of mosques over the past two decades has made Germany one of the “best-equipped” countries in Europe for Islamic worship. Plans to build one of the biggest mosques in Europe in the western German city of Cologne have been opposed by Christian leaders and far-right politicians on the plea that there were already enough mosques in Germany. The mosque is being planned by the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB), Germany’s biggest Muslim group.
NUMBER OF MOSQUES IN GERMANY TO BE DOUBLED
Germany’s Muslim community is planning to more than double the number of mosques in the country over the next few years, according to figures released by the German Institute of Islamic Archives. Of some 1,200 institutions used as mosques in Germany, only 159 are recognisable mosques, serving a community that numbers over 3 million.
