Cologne Central Mosque
Mosque in January 2013
The DİTİB central mosque in Cologne is under construction exploiting dividend mosque in Cologne- Ehrenfeld, to serve as the central mosque of the Turkish- Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB ). About the building design and tower height of the minarets public controversies were conducted.
Planning and construction
The building constructed on the site of the headquarters of Germany DİTİB at Venloerstraße / inside corner canal street in Cologne -Ehrenfeld. The architect Gottfried Böhm and Paul planned the building as a domed structure with two minarets. The five-storey building with a 35 -meter high dome and two minarets of 55 meters each level is designed to provide 1,200 worshipers. In addition to the prayer rooms, a library, training and seminar rooms, areas for shops and service outlets and a parking garage are provided in the building complex of 16,500 m² of floor space.
On 22 August 2007, it refused DİTİB and architect Paul Böhm to build the mosque with minarets lower. Bohm said a coherent architecture can not reach you by compromise. The architect pointed to by a model and many drawings that the mosque quite good insert in the built environment. Several office buildings in the vicinity were even higher than the planned minarets. These will now no longer be square, as shown in the model yet, but round and turned in that thus they would be lighter and more abstract work. The architect then calculated with construction to begin in spring 2008.
On 23 January 2008 the public new plans were presented with reduced space program. On 28 August 2008, the Cologne City Council finally approved the necessary amendment of the development plan and thus created the legal conditions for the construction of the mosque. On 7 November 2008 the City of Cologne gave the DİTİB the building permit.
Since May 2009, the existing building was demolished on the property and dug the pit in the following months.
On 7 November 2009, the foundation stone for the new building took place. At the event, with around 2000 guests said among other Turkish State Minister Faruk Çelik, the Commissioner for Integration of the State Government Thomas skid, the Diyanet President Ali Bardakoglu, architect Paul Böhm and former and incumbent Mayor of Cologne Fritz Schramma and Jürgen Roters. Following the speeches, the foundation stones were filled by the participants symbolically with cement and then transported back into the trench with a crane.
On 2 February 2011, the topping-out ceremony was held after the shells of the 37 meter high dome and two 55 meter high minarets had been completed. The building was inaugurated in the year 2011/2012 and werden.Am finally opened in May 2012 June 27, 2012 the opening date was postponed in 2013.
In October 2011 it was announced that the building owner DİTİB had terminated its cooperation with the planning office of the architect Paul Böhm. She tossed the architecture firm continued shortcomings in the planning and construction of the mosque. Listed existing construction defects were considered by the DİTİB 2,500. Architect Böhm denied this and accused the DİTİB conscious discrediting of his architectural office before. The new DİTİB Board was held to represent a very traditionalist attitude and to have a problem with Böhm. The Cologne Lale Akgun politician pointed out that the DİTİB was bound about religion (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı ) to the AKP government in Turkey. The political situation in Turkey and thus also in the DİTİB in Cologne has become much more conservative.
On 2 March 2012 Böhm and DİTİB gave a joint press conference. Schramma had previously conducted a mediation procedure.
Cologne Central Mosque eV
In addition to the plans of the Turkish government organization DİTİB the carrier club Cologne Central Mosque strives Association at the establishment of a central mosque for all nationalities (an alliance of ten Muslim associations in Cologne). With the advance of DİTİB the association sees his goal to pursue a mosque for all Muslims in Cologne, in danger. Maybe there will be a more representative mosque in the Rhenish right next to the place of prayer in the DİTİB left of the Rhine. According to the head of department in the City Planning Department Anne Luise Müller of this club have never submitted a concept.
Reception
A survey carried out on behalf of the Kölner Stadt- Anzeiger in June 2007 representative survey by the polling institute OmniQuest has revealed that 35.6 % of the Cologne building the mosque fully endorse further 27.1% in favor of the construction at reducing the time planned size and 31, 4 % rejected from the building regardless of the architecture. Overall, the majority in favor of the construction of this mosque, albeit with restrictions.
The extreme right-wing citizens' movement Pro Köln protested against the mosque. A public petition against the construction failed in early May 2007 on too many invalid signatures of supporters.
Ralph Giordano protested the mosque plans with the argument that "they, given the failed integration create a false picture of the true relations between the Muslim minority and the majority society. " Thus, the planned mosque was nationwide and internationally in the headlines.
On 14 August 2007, the Cologne CDU spoke at a party congress majority against a construction of the mosque in the planned size, although both Mayor Fritz Schramma NRW as well as integration minister Armin Laschet had used for construction.
A stir a proposal Günter Wallraff made in September 2007. After the Islamic organization DİTİB announced in the discussion about their planned major mosque in the Ehrenfeld district of Cologne, this open for cultural events, beat Wallraff ago to appease the critics of the building, there Salman Rushdie's work to read The Satanic Verses. This could facilitate the integration of Muslims in Germany, taking as a sign of the enlightened democratic basic order and a clear sign would be set against Islamism. DİTİB rejected the proposal. Wallraff has meanwhile threatened by Islamists in Internet forums. The Association threw Wallraff before intransigence and lack of understanding of the religious feelings and concerns of the Muslim community members. The Turkish religious establishment considers it reasonable that one could get in a democracy also concluded that by a prominent writer requested event can not be reconciled with the religious conception of a mosque community. At the same time DİTİB publicly protested against the death threats against Günter Wallraff. The mosque as such holds Wallraff due to the fundamental right to religious freedom as legitimate. He turned it against critics such as Giordano and stated that he wanted to " no cardboard mosque, but a tourist attraction ."
The State Executive Committee of the International Federation of NRW non-religious and atheists ( IBKA eV) condemns the " propaganda " against the mosque in Cologne- Ehrenfeld. Although mosques, churches, synagogues and temples " systematic false schools of thought " are, nevertheless applies: "Who wants to build a mosque, thereby stops the provisions generally applicable and otherwise is legally compliant, according to the Basic Law and according to the general human rights has a claim thereon. It is and remains a fundamental right of the faithful to practice even this kind archaic religion and to establish such facilities from their own resources. "
Salomon Korn, architect and vice president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, the looming " formal discrepancy " between contemporary exterior and traditional interior design at the Cologne Great Mosque holds primarily for no aesthetic phenomenon, but, similar to the Dresden synagogue, for the symptom a social phenomenon.