Integration or Isolationism
Journalists report on projects to build mosques in European cities, discuss the new visibility of Islam and the dangers posed and opportunities offered by the new places of worship and religious centres.
Voices in favour of building mosques
El Periódico de Catalunya - Spain | Tuesday, 14. August 2007
The journalist Xavier Febrés responds to an article published on August 12th by 'El Périódico de Catalunya' on the growing anxiety of inhabitants faced with ... » more
The journalist Xavier Febrés responds to an article published on August 12th by 'El Périódico de Catalunya' on the growing anxiety of inhabitants faced with the construction of minarets in different European cities. "Why all this anxiety? Muslims have the right to set up places of worship and get out of the prayer rooms set up in old garages and derelict shops. The fact that minarets may modify the face of our towns with their different shapes does not imply a multicultural transformation any bigger than the one we are already experiencing everyday. ... Multiculturalism in our towns can be of benefit for European society, so long as it appropriately integrates the energy and will to succeed bought by immigrants from afar with different religions."
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Die Welt - Germany | Friday, 8. June 2007
Mariam Lau expresses her views in the dispute about mosques in Germany and reminds critics such as Necla Kelek and Ralph Giordano that religious freedom cannot be dependent on concessions or moods. "If religious freedom in Germany is tied up with aesthetic criteria or other requirements in different areas, for instance integration, it is a lost cause. If the argument prevails that mosques are not good places because men and women pray separately there, tomorrow it will be used against orthodox synagogues, where this is also the case... The general attack against Islam needs to clarify the following inconsistency: » more
Mariam Lau expresses her views in the dispute about mosques in Germany and reminds critics such as Necla Kelek and Ralph Giordano that religious freedom cannot be dependent on concessions or moods. "If religious freedom in Germany is tied up with aesthetic criteria or other requirements in different areas, for instance integration, it is a lost cause. If the argument prevails that mosques are not good places because men and women pray separately there, tomorrow it will be used against orthodox synagogues, where this is also the case... The general attack against Islam needs to clarify the following inconsistency: on the one hand Muslims are being told that unless they accept the separation of state and religion, Islam will never be compatible with democracy - which is true. But on the other hand Islam is being held responsible for everything: the bad school reports, the 'honour killings' and violence against women, the jobless youths. Mosques should prove themselves in these issues before they are allowed to be built."
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All available articles from » Mariam Lau
Berliner Zeitung - Germany | Thursday, 7. June 2007
In Germany there is a discussion about whether new mosques should be built in city centres. Now, plans for a central mosque in Cologne have reignited the debate. According to Michaela Schlagenwerth, mosques give Islam a more visible presence and promote the integration of Muslims into German society. "We need competent critics who pose awkward questions. However they must decide whether they want to support or hinder the arrival of Islam in Germany. One thing's for sure: » more
In Germany there is a discussion about whether new mosques should be built in city centres. Now, plans for a central mosque in Cologne have reignited the debate. According to Michaela Schlagenwerth, mosques give Islam a more visible presence and promote the integration of Muslims into German society. "We need competent critics who pose awkward questions. However they must decide whether they want to support or hinder the arrival of Islam in Germany. One thing's for sure: Islam in Germany is undergoing a transformation, not only within Islamic organisations. Muslims are coming out of the shadows of the backyards and becoming a visible, tangible force within German society. In those places where there are already mosques, the reports are similar: Neighbourly relations replace fear; schoolchildren, senior citizens and other groups attend guided tours, and in publicity brochures, cities gladly include cityscapes with minarets."
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All available articles from » Michaela Schlagenwerth
Le Temps - Switzerland | Tuesday, 8. May 2007
Several right-wing politicians in Switzerland recently requested a referendum to ban the building of minarets, which they consider the symbols of the Muslim religion's ... » more
Several right-wing politicians in Switzerland recently requested a referendum to ban the building of minarets, which they consider the symbols of the Muslim religion's demand for political power. The University professor Tariq Ramadan, an Islam specialist, recalls the fact that "Islam is now a Swiss religion. It is not by changing laws and demanding that Muslims become invisible that we will win the struggle for democracy, multiculturalism and religious plurality. Muslims should have the right to build mosques and minarets just as they should respect national laws and sensitivity. This does not however mean that we should respect the diktats of a far-right that is bringing back to the forefront of the political arena the nationalist rejection and racist hate that we believed buried with the darkest chapters of European history."
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All available articles from » Tariq Ramadan
Süddeutsche Zeitung - Germany | Friday, 16. February 2007
Whenever a mosque is built somewhere in Germany it triggers a national debate, Matthias Drobinski observes. He speaks out in favour of a more "visible ... » more
Whenever a mosque is built somewhere in Germany it triggers a national debate, Matthias Drobinski observes. He speaks out in favour of a more "visible Islam". "A new, different religion is becoming visible. Islam is no longer living a shadowy, backyard existence; it's no longer confined to old warehouses on the outskirts of cities, where the faithful creep about instead of walking. Islam is moving house. Perhaps not to the best locations, but at least to places where other people live. Its houses of worship are now topped by domes, and even if they don't have great towers, they at least have a minaret. Muslims are building in those places where other people are - and are therefore no longer far away. They're breaking into normality, into familiar places. Once a mosque has been built and inaugurated, the climate changes. Now it's there, and although it may still seem a little strange, it no longer seems scary… A visible Islam needs transparent communities and also visible partners on the non-Muslim side."
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All available articles from » Matthias Drobinski
Le Temps - Switzerland | Wednesday, 15. November 2006
In the Swiss communes of Wangen and Langenthal, situated in the canton of Berne, the population is questioning the construction of two Islamic minarets. The editorialist Jean-Jacques Roth is in favour of the project which is unleashing the wrath of the far-right party UDC. "Nothing is more precious than secularism, so seriously under threat today from hordes of regressive fundamentalists. But in order to properly defend it and to protect the public space occupied by the religion's inopportune manifestations, the religion should be given the utmost freedom of expression within its natural perimeters: » more
In the Swiss communes of Wangen and Langenthal, situated in the canton of Berne, the population is questioning the construction of two Islamic minarets. The editorialist Jean-Jacques Roth is in favour of the project which is unleashing the wrath of the far-right party UDC. "Nothing is more precious than secularism, so seriously under threat today from hordes of regressive fundamentalists. But in order to properly defend it and to protect the public space occupied by the religion's inopportune manifestations, the religion should be given the utmost freedom of expression within its natural perimeters: the church and the cemetery. ... By negating the new denominational reality of the country , which Islam participates in quite legitimately, and by turning minarets into an emblem of fanaticism, which they are not, the UDC is not only serving it's own electoral fortune, it is priming fundamentalists ...”.
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All available articles from » Jean-Jacques Roth
Voices against building mosques
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung - Germany | Tuesday, 5. June 2007
Plans for construction of a central mosque designed by renowned church architect Paul Böhm have triggered a dispute in the German city of Cologne. Sociologist ... » more
Plans for construction of a central mosque designed by renowned church architect Paul Böhm have triggered a dispute in the German city of Cologne. Sociologist Necla Kelek explains her reservations about the plans. "Even according to Muslim interpretation, mosques are not sacred buildings, like churches or synagogues, but 'multifunctional buildings'. This is often left unmentioned, as is the fact that Islam is not a religion. Islam conceives of itself not only as a spiritual view of the world but as a world view that sees everyday life, politics and belief as forming one inseparable unit. There is no binding theological teaching. In this respect many Islamic associations in Germany often function as religious parties, as political representation groups. This is why the issue of building mosques is not a matter of religious freedom but a political issue."
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All available articles from » Necla Kelek
ABC - Spain | Wednesday, 27. December 2006
The conservative daily is concerned by the "lack of transparency" in the implantation of new mosques in Spain. "Places of Muslim worship and union are ... » more
The conservative daily is concerned by the "lack of transparency" in the implantation of new mosques in Spain. "Places of Muslim worship and union are multiplying in several Spanish towns. Their financing should be submitted to exactly the same rules as all other Spanish establishments. The law should make sure that the money used to finance these places of worship be legally transferred and ensure that the freedom of worship, which no one is contesting for Muslims, does not serve as an excuse for uncontrolled infiltration of terrorist doctrines and the transformation of mosques into bases for radical jihads. ... The fact that there exist 200 illegal mosques in Andalusia, alongside 83 officially registered, can only feed suspicion and favour a dangerous clandestine climate."
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Reports on mosque-building projects in individual countries
Jyllands-Posten - Denmark | Friday, 10. August 2007
In several European countries people take a critical view of the construction of new mosques, the newspaper writes, and attempts to explain this attitude: » more
In several European countries people take a critical view of the construction of new mosques, the newspaper writes, and attempts to explain this attitude: "Just a couple of years ago the prevalent view was that if a religious community financed the construction of a religious building with its own means then it was just like any other building. This has changed. Among other things, the Muhammad cartoons and their consequences have opened many people's eyes: the opposition to mosques is not directed against the buildings themselves, but is rather a symptom of a series of problems and confrontations which people have come to associate with the building. In other words it's about a clash of cultures, and for many Europeans the construction of large mosques... symbolises a threat to their culture and the values it is based on."
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Eleftherotypia - Greece | Monday, 25. June 2007
The daily reacts to the inauguration, on June 22nd, of a 'Greek-Arab cultural centre' that will double as a mosque for the Muslim community in ... » more
The daily reacts to the inauguration, on June 22nd, of a 'Greek-Arab cultural centre' that will double as a mosque for the Muslim community in Athens. "For several months, they were consulted and they were promised a mosque. But the Muslims of Greece never saw it coming. Determined to pray, even outside unsanitary places in the Greek capital, they, thanks to the help of a Saudi industrialist, have now inaugurated this centre. Its creation allows them to get around the law that prohibits them from building a temple, but also to evade the reluctance of the Church of Greece which has been stalling this project for years. Even though the government, the Muslims and the Church came to agreement on the site, in the Elaiona neighbourhood, in October 2006, the construction never began. But the Muslim community was growing larger and larger. Indeed, it was the crises in Iraq and Lebanon that brought greater numbers of Muslims to Greece, European soil close to their home countries."
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To Vima Online - Greece | Thursday, 30. March 2006
"After nearly 70 years of discussions and exchanges of official letters, the government still has not managed to build a mosque in Athens," reports the ... » more
"After nearly 70 years of discussions and exchanges of official letters, the government still has not managed to build a mosque in Athens," reports the daily. "In 1939, a decree mentioned the construction of a mosque in Athens. Since then, nothing. If the Church of Greece has always shown itself to be reticent, it has managed to do so discreetly, by suggesting construction outside the city or by alluding to the wounds inflicted by the Ottoman occupation as a way of dissuading the government. Today, the law has been approved but the construction has been delayed once again. However, the problem is not just a Greek one this time. Indeed, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Koweit are ready to finance the building of the mosque, but it remains to be decided which regional council would oversee it."
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All available articles from » Thanasis Tsiotis
The Slovenia Times - Slovenia | Tuesday, 28. February 2006
The Slovenian weekly Mladian reprinted the Muhammad cartoons early in February. President Janez Drnovsek quickly apologised to the Muslims and calmed down the situation, writes ... » more
The Slovenian weekly Mladian reprinted the Muhammad cartoons early in February. President Janez Drnovsek quickly apologised to the Muslims and calmed down the situation, writes Manca Poglijen. The country's Muslim leaders consequently called for restraint. At the same time, Llubjana's municipal authorities finally "decided, after 37 years, on the site for Slovenia's first mosque... This was a big step towards recognising the Muslim community in Slovenia... Slovenia's Muslims have been waiting for their own mosque since 1969, when they first filed their application." Around 47,000 Muslims live in Slovenia, making Islam the country's second most important religion.
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All available articles from » Manca Poglajen
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