Frankfurt on the river Main has become the first city in Germany to start putting up decorations for the Islamic festival of Ramadan. Work started on Monday morning, reports the Bild newspaper. Stars and crescent moons are now hung above the streets around the Alte Oper opera house near Frankfurt city centre. Ramadan, the highest Muslim festival, begins on March 10 and ends on April 9.
The Greens and the Social Democrats, as well as the Green-led Department for Diversity and Anti-Discrimination, made the decision to light the crescent back in 2023 against the votes of the Christian Democrats. The argument of the Green-Red coalition: “Between 100,000 and 150,000 Muslims live in Frankfurt am Main, making up almost 15 per cent of the total population.”
The Greens’ motion states: “By decorating the city during Ramadan, the city of Frankfurt is emphasising Muslim life and appreciating the people of the Muslim faith in this city.”
Frankfurt’s Mayor Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Greens) defended the installation of the lights to Bild: “They are lights of togetherness, against reservations, against discrimination, against anti-Muslim racism and also against anti-Semitism.” Born in Iran, she took over as acting mayor from November 2022 to May 2023 after Peter Feldmann was voted out of office.
According to the newspaper, the lighting will cost Frankfurt taxpayers between 50,000 and 100,000 euros. This is roughly equivalent to the cost of the Christmas lights in Frankfurt, which amount to 75,000 euros.
Frankfurt appears to be modelled on the British capital London. Mayor Sadiq Khan had Ramadan festive lighting installed in the centre of Piccadilly Circus last year.
Erste deutsche Stadt hängt Ramadan-Festbeleuchtung auf (jungefreiheit.de)