NON-MUSLIM NEIGHBORS TO CLOSER AT ISLAM IN GERMAN

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Berlin, 21 Dzulhijjah 1436/5 October 2015 (MINA) – Inviting non-Muslim neighbors to have a closer look at Islam, German Muslims opened the doors of their mosques last Friday, driven by hope to offer them a true image of Islam as well as to eliminate prejudices spread by media.

The Muslim Coordination Council in Cologne said the open house events across the country focused on young Muslims in Germany and highlighted their stories.

The Council had recently launched its own youth league, Deutsche Welle reported. Onislam quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

Held on Saturday, thousands of visitors attended events held at hundreds of mosques in Germany.

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Germany’s Muslim Coordination Council, a platform bringing together the four largest Muslim organizations in the country, expressed hope on Friday that with the “Open mosque day” they will be able to present to German society the various aspects of Muslim community life and answer questions on Islam.

The Muslim Coordination Council is made up of a number of Islamic organizations across Germany, including the Turkish-Islamic Union of Religious Affairs (DITIB), the Union of Islamic Cultural Centers, the Islamic Council, and the Central Council of Muslims.

It organizes the annual open house events on October 3 to dispel common myths held against Islam.

The annual event began in 1997, deliberately choosing to take place on the day Germany celebrates its reunification. The Central Council of Muslims said it used this date to express how Muslims felt connected to Germany’s narrative and evolution.

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The Central Council of Muslims said it expected more than 100,000 visitors at over 1,000 mosques in Germany.

The event comes amid increasing influx of Syrian refugees who escaped war in their country to Germany, which coupled with far-right rhetoric accusing Muslims of taking over Europe.

As Germany expects up to one million migrants in 2015, several eastern towns have been grappled with protests against refugee homes and clashes with police.

About 22 arson attacks have targeted would-be or existing refugee shelters since the start of this year, Domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen revealed.

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At the weekend, several anti-refugees and anti-Islam protests were held in many eastern states like Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Leipzig city.

The far-right protests compelled police and soldiers to guard buses carrying 100 refugees to a shelter in the eastern town of Niederau on Saturday.

Western cities have witnessed anti-immigrants protests as well, where unidentified people in Bremen attempted to set fire to a tent that was supposed to house refugees in October.

Germany has Europe’s second-biggest Muslim population after France, and Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

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It has between 3.8 and 4.3 million Muslims, making up some 5 percent of the total 82 million population, according to government-commissioned studies. (T/Imt/R03)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)

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