Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque

Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque
Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Moschee
The mosque was located in a part of the building of the Johanniskirche in Berlin-Moabit between June 2017 and October 2020 before it was relocated to Alt-Moabit
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Branch/traditionLiberal Islam
Location
LocationOttostraße 16, Alt-Moabit, Mitte, Berlin
CountryGermany
Location of the mosque in Berlin
Interactive map of Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque
Coordinates52°31′34″N 13°20′09″E / 52.52615420197973°N 13.335731454961616°E / 52.52615420197973; 13.335731454961616
Architecture
FounderSeyran Ateş
Completed2017
Website
ibn-rushd-goethe-moschee.de (in German)

The Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque (German: Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Moschee; Arabic: مسجد ابن رشد - جوته) is a mosque in the Mitte district of Berlin, Germany. It is the only self-described liberal mosque in the country and the first in the world. Founded in June 2017 by Seyran Ateş, a German lawyer and Muslim feminist of Turkish and Kurdish descent,[1] the mosque was named in honour of medieval Andalusian-Arabic polymath Ibn Rushd and German writer and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. The liberal mosque bans face-covering, allows women and men to pray together, and accepts LGBT worshippers.

Overview

The mosque is open to Sunni, Shia and other Muslims. Full-face veils, such as burqas or niqabs, are not allowed. Men and women pray together in the mosque and women are not obligated to wear a headscarf. Furthermore, gay and lesbian Muslims are allowed to enter the mosque and can worship. It is the first mosque of its kind in the world.[2][3][4]

Founder Seyran Ateş said:[5][6]

"We need a historical-critical exegesis of the Quran. A scripture from the 7th century one may not and cannot take literally. We stand for a reading of the Quran which is oriented to mercifulness, love of God and most of all to peace. [The mosque is a] place for all those people who do not meet the rules and regulations of conservative Muslims."

— Seyran Ateş, June 2017

History

The mosque was founded on 16 June 2017 by Seyran Ateş, a German lawyer and feminist of Turkish and Kurdish descent.[7] It was named after the Andalusian-Arabic polymath, Ibn Rushd (also known as Averroes), and the German writer and statesman, Goethe.[8]

Ateş told news magazine Der Spiegel that “no one will be let in with a niqab or burqa veil. This is for security reasons and also it is our belief that full-face veils have nothing to do with religion, but rather are a political statement.” She told the journalists that she was inspired by Wolfgang Schäuble, the German Minister of Finance, who told her that liberal Muslims should band together.[9][7]

In July 2022, the mosque became the first in Germany to raise a rainbow flag, in support of the LGBT community.[10][11]

Reactions

Following massive threats after the opening, the founders of the mosque commented on the immense intimidation that liberal Muslims faced. They asked for tolerance and respect with regard to their reading of the Quran.[12] The personal security for Ateş was increased significantly after evaluation by the State Criminal Police Office of Berlin. In July 2017, Ateş reported that she had received about 100 death threats since the mosque's opening.[13]

Turkish mass media displayed the Rushd-Goethe Mosque as part of the Gülen movement, a claim denied by Ercan Karakoyun, chairman of the Gülen-affiliated foundation in Germany Stiftung Dialog und Bildung.[14] The claim was also denied by the mosque itself.[15] Turkish media were critical, and Ateş received threats and hostility, both from radical and enemies and critics of Islam, in Germany and abroad.[16]

The fatwa institution in Egypt, the Egyptian Fatwa Council at the Al-Azhar University, labelled the mosque an attack on Islam,[17] and declared a fatwa against the mosque.[8] The Turkish religious authority and the Egyptian authority condemned Ateş' project and Ateş subsequently received death threats.[18][8] The fatwa encompassed all present and future liberal mosques.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Eddy, Melissa (June 22, 2018). "By Taking a Bullet, a Muslim Woman Finds Her Calling". The New York Times. Retrieved March 29, 2021. Born in Istanbul to a Turkish mother and a Kurdish father, she emigrated with her parents to what was then West Berlin in the late 1960s, part of the first large wave of Muslim immigrants who came to fill the blue-collar jobs needed to rebuild the German economy after World War II. Ms. Ates was 6 when she and her four siblings moved into a one-room apartment with their parents.
  2. ^ Breyton, Ricarda (June 23, 2017). "Die meisten liberalen Muslime haben Angst". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Der Islam gehört nicht den Fanatikern" (in German). Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  4. ^ "Moabit: Liberale Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Moschee ist eröffnet". Berliner Zeitung (in German). Archived from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  5. ^ "Ich will in der Moschee Mensch sein". www.rbb-online.de (in German). June 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Berlin's First 'Liberal Mosque' Fights Extremism, Death Threats With 'Modern Islam'". nbcchicago.com. Retrieved July 13, 2017.
  7. ^ a b Ateş, Seyran (June 17, 2017). "Islam: Grüß Gott, Frau Imamin!". Die Zeit (in German). ISSN 0044-2070. Retrieved June 26, 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d Oltermann, Philip (June 25, 2017). "Liberal Berlin mosque to stay open despite fatwa from Egypt". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  9. ^ "A 'liberal' mosque where burqas are banned has opened in Germany". The Independent. June 16, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  10. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "Berlin mosque flies rainbow flag in support of LGBTQ community | DW | 01.07.2022". DW.COM. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  11. ^ "Berlin mosque becomes 'first in Germany' to fly LGBTQ+ Pride flag". Gay Times. July 6, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Seyran Ateş zur Kritik an liberaler Berliner Moschee". www.ndr.de (in German). Archived from the original on June 26, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Lutz, Martin (July 1, 2017). "100 Morddrohungen gegen liberale Moschee-Gründerin". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  14. ^ "Karakoyun: FakeNews von AHaber sorgt für Hetzjagd auf Facebook". Deutsch Türkische News | DTJ ONLINE (in German). June 19, 2017. Archived from the original on July 13, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "Diyanet wettert gegen neue Berliner Moschee". tagesschau.de (in German). Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  16. ^ "Berlin: Türkische Medien hetzen gegen liberale Moschee von Seyran Ates". Der Spiegel. June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  17. ^ "Fatwa-Behörde kritisiert liberale Moschee in Berlin scharf". DIE WELT. June 21, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  18. ^ "Liberal Moschee in Berlin: "Die meisten liberalen Muslime haben Angst"". Die Welt. June 23, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
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