The city of Cologne has launched a model project by which mosque congregations will in future be able to call their worshippers to Friday prayers. “When we hear the call of the muezzin in addition to the church bells in our city, it shows that diversity is appreciated and lived in Cologne,” Mayor Henriette Reker (non-party) announced on Thursday evening.
“I am pleased to set a sign of mutual acceptance of religion and to make a commitment to the freedom of religion protected by the Basic Law,” she added. Muslims are an “integral part of Cologne’s urban society”, the politician stressed. “Anyone who doubts this questions Cologne’s identity and our peaceful coexistence.
Accordingly, the model project is initially limited to two years. Interested mosque communities must submit an application. The conditions are to be individually adapted and laid down in a contract. However, the muezzin call may only be made between 12 and 3 pm and for a maximum of five minutes. The volume would also be regulated differently depending on the location of the mosque. After two years, the project will be evaluated and a decision will be made as to whether a permanent regulation can be developed from the model project.
The question of whether or not a muezzin should be allowed to call for prayer in public is always the subject of heated debate. Green and left-wing politicians in particular repeatedly call for such measures. In Hesse, the state government decided in winter that muezzin calls were possible without permission.
Critics, on the other hand, regularly point out that the Islamic call to prayer is not comparable to the ringing of church bells, because the muezzin call is a sung confession of faith.