Sendling mosque
The mosque in Sendling in Schanzenbach street in Munich's district Sendling exists as 1989 Islamic house of prayer for mainly ethnic Turkish Muslims . The official Turkish name of the mosque is Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Merkezi (DITIM; German: Turkish Islamic Community Center Munich eV) and also denotes the mosque association .
society
The DITIM association has 42 members and belongs to the DITIB umbrella organization . The leading authorities of the DITIB for Munich are the Turkish consul or the religious attaché of the consulate, they determine the imam of the mosque, who is an employee of the Turkish state. In addition to the Sendlinger mosque, DITIB in Munich looks after the mosques in Pasing and Allach .
In order to make itself better known to residents and other interested citizens, to establish contacts with non-Muslims and thus to promote the integration of the community in Sendling, DITIM has organized several " Open Mosque Days " every year since 2004 . In addition, the representatives of DITIM emphasize that visitors are always welcome at any time.
Church life
Apart from prayer in Arabic , the language spoken is predominantly Turkish . Prayers are held daily, with Friday prayer being particularly important . The tea room with non-commercial catering, television and pool table serves as a meeting point and is also open to guests, as is the library. There are offers especially for women, such as Koran lessons with an Islamic theologian or a big Mother's Day festival; for girls groups to discuss religious topics and a theater and choir group for eleven to fourteen year olds; for boys there are also lessons to discuss religious topics. A particularly important point of contact and meeting point is the mosque for senior citizens, it offers advice and help with applications, care and housing problems. The interreligious dialogue is cultivated in a variety of ways through various events, neighborhood contacts and visits to schools.
Mosque in Schanzenbachstrasse
The previous house of prayer in a former furniture store and warehouse is a typical “ backyard mosque ” of the city and is hardly recognizable as a mosque from the outside. The property is in a general residential area . On a floor area of around 656 square meters, there are prayer rooms for men and women on two floors, a multi-purpose room, administration rooms, a library, a tea room as a meeting point, the apartment of the prayer leader and sanitary facilities. The mosque on Schanzenbachstrasse is designed for around 130 visitors, but up to 700 visitors come on public holidays. For this reason, DITIM submitted plans for a renovation in 2004, which, however, provoked resistance from the neighbors.
Rebuild plans
A lack of space and structural problems, but also the desire to make the mosque recognizable as such from the outside, prompted the DITIM agency in 2004 to have the architect Walter Höfler draw up plans for a suitable conversion with an extension. The plans provided for an additional storey and a flat domed roof, the facade would have been redesigned with light strips and sliding shutters with a crescent moon , and the inner courtyard would have been redecorated. The city authorities had examined and approved the submitted plans, the district committee 6 approved with a large majority. However, there was resistance from some neighbors, supported by the CSU local association Sendling and its faction in the Sendling district committee.
New building project
Location
In order to avoid conflicts, the operating association DITIM asked the city of Munich for help in finding an alternative plot of land for a new mosque to be built elsewhere. The city recommended the vacant lot it owns on Gotzinger Platz. The area is classified as a mixed area in which the construction of a sacred building is permitted. The property, on which there is currently a parking lot with around 150 parking spaces, is just 500 meters as the crow flies northeast of the previous location of the Turkish-Islamic Cultural Center. The mosque would come to the northwest corner of the property and thus form the east side of Gotzinger Platz directly opposite the St. Korbinian Church on the west side. The parking spaces on the property were lost, so the city council decided to build a parking garage in the area as a requirement for a new mosque to be built on this property.
financing
In August 2008 it became known that the “financial performance of the mosque association really had to be questioned”, said Mayor Christian Ude . The real estate transfer tax required by the tax office could not be raised in full. The delay due to the need for a development plan also means that the rental income from commercial and residential properties included in the calculation cannot be calculated and the donations are behind the plan.
Political discussion
The new building project at Gotzinger Platz , which has been planned since 2004, became known nationwide in 2005 under the catchphrase Sendlinger Mosque Dispute and also caused a stir internationally. The building project was discussed controversially on various levels at the end of May 2005 even before the preliminary building inquiry was successfully completed by the local building commission and the monument protection examination. Some residents founded an interest group against a conversion or new construction of the mosque. Public debates took place in the district committee and the parties argued over the mosque project in the Munich city council.
On June 16, 2005, under the direction of Munich's Lord Mayor Christian Ude, a citizens' meeting took place in Sendling, at which the mosque was the main subject and opponents and supporters had a detailed say. In the final vote on the submitted rejection motion, the opponents were able to mobilize 252 votes, but also had to accept 212 against their motion. Encouraged by the close vote, Mayor Ude announced the next day: “The mosque is being built”, knowing full well that decided opponents and supporters had largely mobilized their supporters to vote.
On June 22, 2005, the Munich city council approved the construction with a clear majority. A coalition of the SPD , the Greens , FDP and non-attached city councils, which had the support of the two major Christian churches, prevailed against the CSU, which had expressed concerns about the project. This began the building permit process for the new mosque.
On July 27, 2005, the city council approved the contract between the city and DITIM for the sale of the property on Gotzinger Platz with a large majority. In the purchase contract, demands of the city are recorded, which take into account the concerns of the residents. The preliminary decision on the building request for the mosque on Gotzinger Platz has been delivered. With the entry into force of law, all of the questions answered in the preliminary decision would result in a legal claim for the applicant.
On July 10, 2007, another citizens' meeting was held under the leadership of Lord Mayor Christian Ude (SPD). With over 900 citizens present, 371 citizens voted against the mosque this time, while 222 people in attendance voted for it.
competition
The architect Walter Höfler was commissioned to design and plan the new building. The spatial plan includes the mosque, a small administration building and two residential buildings. The mosque association DITIM launched a facade competition. A jury made up of representatives from DITIM, the city council, the district committee and the parish of St. Korbinian decided at the end of March 2006 in favor of a revised design by the architect Höfler, which includes a dome and two 41-meter-high minarets . This would make the mosque the first recognizable Muslim place of worship within the Middle Ring of Munich. The position of the mosque directly opposite the church with its two 55 meter high towers was expressly welcomed by the monument office for aesthetic reasons.
From April 4 to 6, 2006 the submitted designs and models were presented to the public. In a panel discussion, citizens were able to ask questions about the various drafts, the status of the planning and the further procedure.
Wimmer office
Nagler's office
Jasarevic office
Yilbirt office
draft
The design provides for the public cultural center on the ground floor to be designed as a glass plinth that can be seen from the outside and that supports the prayer and other rooms of the actual mosque above. Furthermore, a dome is planned that rests on five pillars, which, in addition to their constructive and space-forming function, also have a symbolic meaning in that they embody the five pillars of Islam . In addition, the winning design includes two 41 meter high minarets (one of which is accessible), which, lower than the towers of St. Korbinian, are directly opposite them and are intended to establish a relationship with the church across Gotzinger Platz.
Way to realization
On September 18, 2006, the government of Upper Bavaria overturned the preliminary decision due to neighboring contradictions. The state capital has violated the provisions of the spacing law. Furthermore, the mosque adversely affects the appearance of the place and lacks the necessary consideration for the surrounding buildings.
On February 13, 2007, the Bavarian Administrative Court in Munich dismissed the sponsoring association's action against the decision of the Upper Bavarian government, and an appeal was expressly permitted. (File number: M 8 K 06.3625 and 3626)
Before construction began, a parking garage had to be built in the quarter for residents and employees of the wholesale market hall companies, in accordance with a city council resolution. On the urban property proposed by the wholesale market hall between the wholesale market hall area, Thalkirchner and Königsdorfer Strasse, social facilities were to be built in addition to the parking garage.
ground floor
First floor
Second story
Third floor
fail
On February 21, 2010, at a meeting of the Ditim mosque building association, the Turkish religious attaché in Munich and three representatives of the Turkish-Islamic umbrella organization Ditib announced that the mosque on Gotzinger Platz could not be built for financial reasons. Up to that date, approximately € 500,000 had been spent on litigation and planning alone.
Individual evidence
- ↑ www.welt.de , "Association has problems financing the mosque" , August 28, 2008
- ↑ www.sueddeutsche.de ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , "Donations are scarce - the mosque is missing millions"
- ^ The New York Times , "In Munich, Provocation in a Symbol of Foreign Faith," December 8, 2006
- ↑ www.abendzeitung.de ( Memento from February 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), "No mosque for Sendling" , February 23, 2010
See also
- DITIB Central Mosque, Cologne , another mosque project that was occasionally mentioned in the discussion
- Controversy about the construction of minarets in Switzerland since the beginning of 2006 in Switzerland
literature
- Thomas Schmitt: Mosques in Germany. Conflicts about their construction and use. German Academy for Regional Studies - self-published, Flensburg 2003 (standard work on the subject.)
- Lauterbach, Burkhart; Lottermoser, Stephanie: Foreign body mosque? On dealing with Islamic cultural imports in major Western European cities. Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2009 (= Kulturtransfer Volume 5). ISBN 978-3-8260-3984-3 . (The so-called mosque dispute mentioned above is the subject of Lottermoser's research.)
Web links
- ditim.de Homepage of the mosque association
- Gotzingerplatz.de Interreligious Dialogue at Gotzingerplatz
- Citizens for Munich Website of the mosque-critical citizens' initiative
Coordinates: 48 ° 7 ′ 5 ″ N , 11 ° 33 ′ 5 ″ E
