The city of Cologne, Germany, announced today, Monday, that it will permit the largest mosque in Germany to broadcast the call to prayer for Friday prayers via loudspeakers, in an agreement between the city and the Muslim community that aims to ease restrictions. Not only that, the city will allow all 35 mosques to broadcast the Friday call to prayer for up to 5 minutes, according to a two-year initiative, as reported by Reuters.
This initiative includes the Central Mosque of Cologne, which opened in 2018 and subsequently became a focal point of tension and increased anti-Muslim sentiment from right-wing extremists, particularly following the influx of a large number of asylum seekers between 2015 and 2016.
Henriette Reker, the mayor of Cologne, stated in a tweet: "Allowing the call to prayer is, for me, a sign of respect. It shows that diversity is a lived reality and is appreciated in Cologne." She added that the call to prayer will join the bells of Cologne Cathedral, which is considered the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe, noting that these sounds will be heard by those arriving at the city's main train station.
Earlier this year, Germany announced a program to train imams in order to reduce the number of Muslim preachers coming from abroad, with 40 men and women undertaking this task over two years at the Institute of Islam in Osnabrück in the northwest of the country.
