BERLIN, September 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Over 2000 mosques and prayer halls in Germany are preparing for the annual public campaign known as the "Open Mosque Day".

Every year, on October 3, the mosques open their doors to welcome tens of thousands of Germans who want to know more about the religious lives of their fellow Muslim citizens and to understand the role of the mosques in German society. The visitors come with questions about Islam and what the Muslim faith includes.

"This day is very useful for non-Muslim citizens to get to know more about Islam," read a statement issued by the Muslims’ Council in Germany.

German mosques started this tradition a few years ago and the number of visitors reached 200,000 according to the Council’s last year’s statistics.

The Council said that there were more than 400 media reports on last year's Open Mosque Day which showed the desire of the Muslim population, which exceeds three million people, to conduct dialogue with those surrounding them.

The Open Mosque Day event has gained special importance since last year, especially after the September 11 deadly attacks on the United States after which triggered a growing interest in Islam.