The Mosque in Sendling, Munich, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, is situated on Schanzenbachstraße. The Mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 has existed there since 1989 as an Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic prayer house mainly for Turkish Muslims.

Name & organisation

The official Turkish name of the Mosque is Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Merkezi, which reads as German Turkish-Islamic center for the Institute for Religion. This is shortened to DITIM, and is also designated to the Mosque association, to which 42 members and their families belong. The association is linked to the federation, Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği

Diyanet Isleri Türk Islam Birligi

The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs , is one of the largest Islamic organisations in Germany. It was founded in 1984 as a branch of the Presidency of Religious Affairs in Ankara. The headquarters are in Cologne-Ehrenfeld....

(DITIB), and stands under the supervision of the Turkish president for Religious Affairs Diyanet İşleri Bakanlığı.

DITIB also selects the Imam of the Mosque. The person selected usually speaks little German and is a civil servant of the Turkish state. DITIB also operates two other Mosques in Munich, in Passing, and Allach. The Schanzenbachstraße Mosque is the biggest of the three Mosques in Munich, and is laid out for apporoximately 130 visitors. This has proved in practice untenable, as at peak times, up to 700 visitors come to pray.

Plan to build a new Mosque

For this reason DITIB has submitted 2004 plans for a change to the building, which has caused resistance among people living near the building. Therefore, DITIB worked with the city of Munich to help find a suitable place for a new building, at Gotzinger Place. However, these new building plans were also attacked, and the Press have covered the arguments since Spring of 2005, under the title Sendlinger Mosque Controversy.