Cologne (dpa/lnw) - The Turkish-Islamic Union Ditib in Cologne can have the muezzin called to prayer over loudspeakers for the first time on Friday (October 14). A spokeswoman for the city of Cologne said on Wednesday that a corresponding public-law contract between the city and Ditib would be signed on Thursday. Ditib has already signed, and the city will sign on Thursday. Then the way for the muezzin call would be free in principle. Everything else is up to Ditib. It is their duty to inform the residents about the muezzin call with flyers, among other things. For Thursday afternoon, Ditib has invited to an information event in the central mosque in the Ehrenfeld district.
The city spokeswoman said that the muezzin call, which lasted a maximum of five minutes, should only reach the residents of the mosque at a maximum volume of 60 decibels. In the pilot project, which is initially limited to two years, the city refers to the freedom of religious practice enshrined in the Basic Law. While the bells rang in churches to call the faithful to the service, in the mosques it was the calls of the muezzin.
