Mosques in Germany open doors to non-Muslims 04/10/2006 00:00

4 October 2006

COLOGNE, GERMANY - Some 800 mosques across Germany opened their doors to the general public on Tuesday, allowing people from other faiths a first-hand glimpse of Islam.

Around 90,000 visitors took advantage of the open day to explore the houses of worship and pose questions about Islam, the Central Council of Muslims in Germany said.

Some of the mosques organized exhibitions, while others pooled their resources for round-table discussions on religion or information gatherings on integration and language courses.

The annual event, which was launched in 1997, this year coincided with the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

Visitors to the Central Mosque in Hamburg were invited to join Muslims in an "iftar" - the meal that breaks the fast of Ramadan at the end of the day.

There are around 2,300 mosques in Germany, which counts some 3.2 million practising Muslims among its population, the second biggest religious group after Christians.

DPA

Subject: German news