As of: January 31, 2024, 9:02 a.m
By: Tom Otto
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Controversial project: The Turkish-Islamic community wants to build a minaret on the site of the Memmingen mosque. This is causing heated discussions.
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The Turkish-Islamic community wants to build a 24 meter high minaret in Memmingen.
This not only divides the city into two camps.
Politicians are also having a hard time with the project.
Memmingen
- After the previous week the building committee had already rejected a building application from the Turkish-Islamic community for a minaret on the mosque site in a tie, the city council also voted narrowly against the project on Monday evening with 20 votes to 20.
After the narrow rejection in the building committee, many observers had expected approval from the city parliament.
Mayor Jan Rothenbacher made it clear that the building law perspective had to be separated from the content-political consideration of the matter.
There is nothing against the project in terms of building law, he emphasized.
Memmingen city council divided
However, the city parliament was just as divided on the issue as the population.
Horst Holas, parliamentary group leader of the CSU-FDP community, spoke out in favor of free exercise of religion during the long debate, but emphasized the concerns in society about the importance of a minaret for political Islam.
A minaret means the rule of Allah over all others.
Such a tower is not absolutely necessary for the practice of religion, but it brings unrest and lack of understanding among the population.
The Turkish-Islamic community should therefore reconsider their building application, he demanded.
Michael Hartge from the ödp spoke of a bad gut feeling.
However, building law takes precedence over gut feeling.
He revealed that the ödp did not agree.
The two older city council members are for more consideration and against the minaret, the two younger ödp city councilors are for it.
He would vote against the building application and demanded a smaller minaret.
Criticism of discussion
SPD parliamentary group leader Matthias Reßler made an urgent appeal to comply with building law.
According to Article 3 of the Basic Law, all people are equal before the law.
In addition, the Turkish-Islamic community in Memmingen has always appeared as a non-political religious community.
Gottfried Voigt from the Free Voters criticized the controversial discussion and suggested a reduced height of the minaret as a compromise.
Christoph Maier (AfD) emphasized that a minaret is always a sign of “land grabbing” by Islam and means: “Islam rules here”.
The DITIB, to which the Turkish-Islamic community in Memmingen belongs, is the extended arm and anchor of Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan.
For the AfD it is clear that there should be no minaret.
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Rupert Reisinger, leader of the Die LINKE parliamentary group, also advocated not making legal decisions based on feeling.
He called for the rule of law and human rights.
The decisive factor in such a decision is not the actual or assumed majority, but law and order.
Mayor Rothenbacher announced after the vote that he wanted to hold discussions with everyone involved regarding possible options.
Both the developer and the government of Swabia have the opportunity to sue against the decision.
Regarding the AfD's planned citizens' initiative against the minaret, he said that there were high hurdles.
We now have to wait and see how and in what wording the corresponding question will be put to the vote.