Betra is offering its Muslim patients halal meals and mulls providing them with a prayer hall.

By Ahmad Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent

BERLIN , May 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – In an unprecedented step in the European country, a German hospital has set up a special ward for its Muslim patients to be treated by an all-Muslim medical team.

Betra hospital in the northwestern city of Hannover also intends to provide a prayer hall for the Muslim patients, the Islamic association Milli Gorus reported Tuesday, May 24, on its Web site.

"We are to respect the Muslims' cultural values and understand their traditions," said Dr. Axel Düsenberg.

To guarantee the success of the experiment, the hospital has hired an entire team of Muslim doctors and nurses.

"It is very important to get acquainted with the Islamic culture and talk to the Muslim patients in their own language, especially those who don't speak German, to guarantee accurate diagnoses," said Düsenberg.

Atela Telas, a Muslim doctor, said many Muslim patients are not comfortable receiving treatment at "ordinary" hospitals.

"Their poor language skills stand in the way of dealing with German-speaking doctors," he noted.

Hannover is home to 50,000 Muslims, mostly of Turkish origin.

Prayer Hall

Betra also contracted a neighboring Islamic restaurant to provide halal meat to its Muslim patients, says IslamOnline.net's correspondent.

Many German hospitals are keen to provide halal food to their Muslim patients, according to our correspondent.

In addition, Betra director Birgit Huber announced that the hospital is currently mulling the possibility of providing a prayer hall for its Muslim patients.

She noted that more Muslim patients have been flocking to the hospital since the launch of the Muslim wards a month ago.

Huber added that Muslim doctors across Hannover have been advising their patients to seek treatment at Betra.

Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

There are some 3.4 million Muslims in the country, including 220,000 in Berlin alone.