A maquette of the new mosque in Germany.

By Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent

VIENNA, February 2 (IslamOnline.net) – Work is in full swing to build Germany’s biggest mosque funded by the government, the European Union and Muslim bodies in the north-central European country.

“The necessity arises to have a grand mosque to meet the needs of the sizable Muslim community in Dusiburg,” Mhemet Yeldirim, the secretary general of the Turkish Islamic Union in Germany, told Nordrhein Zeitung newspaper.

The new mosque is being constructed in the Warbruckstrasse Street, Marksloh district in Duisburg, on a space of 2400 square meters to replace an old mosque built by the Turkish Islamic Union.

The construction works kicked off in early 2004 and are expected to be completed by early 2007. The mosque is designed to have a capacity of 3,000 people.

The mosque is modeled on the Ottoman style with some Byzantine touches, manifested in the mosque's lofty domes.

The main dome's height is 23m in addition to a 34-meter minaret.

“A grant worth 3,160,143 euros ($4 million) was allocated by the German government and the EU to build the new mosque,” Michale Vesper, the Minister for Construction in the Nordrhein Westfalen state, told the daily.

He said the move is aimed at bridging the gulf between peoples of different faiths in German society.

With some 300 dignitaries attending, Vesper gave on January 28 the go-ahead for the construction of the mosque’ auditorium on a space of 1,000 square meters.

The hall includes an open arena for dialogue between the Muslim community and followers of different faiths.

It will also include an information center, and an internet café, along with conference and reading halls, all for Muslims and non-Muslims.

The project is the culmination of two years of marathon talks between representatives of the Islamic bodies in Germany, the government and church leaders.

“Marksloh Miracle”

“The mosque will be the biggest in Germany,” Sauerland said.

Adolf Sauerland, the Duisburg mayor, described the construction of the new mosque as the “Marksloh miracle”.

“The mosque will be the biggest in Germany,” he told the German newspaper.

Marksloh is home to several immigrant communities, especially of Turkish origin who arrived in Germany in the 1960s and ‘70s. Most of Duisburg Muslims further live in the Warbruckstrasse Street, where the new mosque is being built.

Thanks to their earnest efforts to develop their society, Muslims in Duisburg have drummed up a lot of local support for their new mosque, IslamOnline.net correspondent says.  

Islam comes third after Protestant and Catholic Christianity in Germany.

There are some 3.4 million Muslims in the country, including 220,000 in Berlin. An estimated two thirds of them are of Turkish origin.

Some 40 Muslim youths, aged 18-30, set up a kiosk in central Hamburg on December 21-24, distributing illustrative materials on Islam among attentive and enthusiastic passers-by.

There are 2,200 mosques and praying rooms in Germany, most of which are built by Turkish bodies. The oldest mosque in Germany was built in Berlin in 1924.