German Muslims are eagerly awaiting the first call to prayer in Cologne next October 14, saying the Muslim adhan will showcase the city’s diversity.
“There are a few minor problems left,” Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) Secretary-General Abdurrahman Atasoy told Anadolu Agency (AA).
“I hope we will recite our first call to prayer here on Oct. 14, after we deal with the measurements and similar issues that should be resolved not by the constitutional framework but by the municipality.”
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The Adhan is the call to announce that it is time for a particular obligatory Salah (ritual prayer).
It was first approved by the mayor of Cologne in October, 2021, to celebrate the diversity of the city.
“We were born and raised here and we practice our religion here, so being a part of this place and being able to call the prayer is an indicator of this and also an important sign for us,” Atasoy said.
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He also thanked Mayor Henriette Reker for the decision that “is a link of the chain for mutual tolerance and acceptance.”
The adhan will be between 12 pm-3 pm. It will not exceed five minutes at a sound level that will not disturb neighbors, similar to churches.
Germany has more than 900 mosques belonging to the Turkish Islamic Union alone.
Cologne is not the first city in North Rhine-Westphalia to allow mosques to broadcast Adhan.
In a region with a large Turkish immigrant community, mosques in Gelsenkirchen and Düren have been broadcasting the religious call since as long ago as the 1990s.