The inauguration last month of a mosque in Berlin was marred by demonstrators with banners that read "Stop the Islamisation of Europe". In Cologne, plans for a big mosque were met with a far-right campaign warning that "the muezzin call and headscarves are flooding our streets". The building spree marks a new phase in the painfully slow integration of the 3.
Many never returned to their home countries, and the desire for more prominent places of worship reflects both homesickness and a realisation that Germany will remain their home. But there was no hint of protest among the more than 5, residents, Muslim and non-Muslim, who turned up to the ceremony to marvel at the grand Ottoman-style domed building and the sumptuous gilded interior that offers room for 1, worshippers.
In fact, there was so little controversy about the Merkez Mosque in the Duisburg district of Marxloh, a former coal mining area, that it has been dubbed "The Miracle of Marxloh". Now Germany is wondering what went right. Ms Yilmaz, who runs educational courses at the mosque and gives tours of it, said the trick was to involve everyone in the community - politicians, church representatives of all faiths, local residents and organisations - in the planning of the building right from the start. Large plain windows were put in the ground floor at the request of German residents who wanted an open, transparent mosque - a response to fears of Islamic hate preaching after the September 11 attacks.
The Muslim community even agreed to a webcam in the prayer hall. To promote interaction with non-Muslims, a meeting centre was built into the basement of the mosque with a Turkish cafe, a lecture hall and a library that stocks the Quran in German and the Bible in Turkish.
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It will offer a variety of classes, including language courses. The mosque, with its metre high minaret, metre main dome and numerous smaller domes, has been described as a "Hagia Sophia in miniature" in reference to the great Istanbul landmark. The interior is dominated by a giant gilded candelabrum with lights. Blue windows around the gallery, intricate wall paintings and a plush red carpet give it a beauty and splendour that contrasts with its drab surroundings of rundown, soot-covered houses and chimney stacks in what is one of Duisburg's poorest districts.
