Controversy Over Designs for Cologne's New Mosque

Earlier this month, despite tremendous opposition, Cologne's City Council approved designs to allow construction of what will be Germany's largest mosque within Ehrenfeld, an industrialized district of Cologne.

The structure is estimated to cost between 15 and 20 billion euros and will be financed by over 800 private groups in Germany. Construction will be completed in 2010 by the locally based Turkish Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) which has close ties to Ankara. The mosque designed by German architects Paul and Gottfried Bohm will be a domed building with glass walls and two 180 foot minarets, one-third the height of the towers of the Cologne Cathedral. The building will be flanked by highrise office complexes so the DITIB has agreed no to broadcast the daily prayers over loudspeakers.

Though the architects initially saw their design as being welcomed by all Cologne residents and viewed as "an architectural masterpiece that tour buses will take people to see after they visit the Cologne Cathedral," the building as met with heavy opposition from numerous parties including the Conservative Christian Democrats (CDU), Cologne's Roman Catholic Bishop and extreme right activist who have drummed up support from as far as Austria and Belgium.

Indeed, the opposition has triggered anger in the middle east with the Iranian Foreign Ministry urging France, as the current European Union President, to block the protests in Cologne by far-right activist from all around Europe. The IFM also expressed their fears that the protests over the approved mosque designs are increasing "anti-Islamic sentiments in Europe." Pro-Cologne leaders who head the protests, say that they support Muslims' rights to live in Germany provided they learn the language and "actively demonstrate" a willingness to integrate but they say that such a large mosque has "no place in traditionally Roman Catholic Cologne."

When I first heard of the protest, I initially thought it had something to do with the designs themselves or some component of it but the protests seem to be more about the symbolism of the mosque and the not so warm feelings Germans have of Islam. I think that the designs are pretty intriguing but outside of that, I'm not touching this one people! It was just an interesting issue going on right now that I thought you all would like to know. But I would like to ask; in situations like this, how can architecture separate itself from the controversy of religion and be just about the building and all issues that follow building design?


Images obtained from www.spiegel.de/international
For more information, check www.salon.com/wires/ap/world/2008/09/12/D9358V980_germany_mosque_protest