German church converts to Islam

by Mattia Rosini - 2013.02.28

Churches are being sold and converted into mosques. A recent example of this trend is the evangelical church in Horn, part of the city of Hamburg, Germany. One of the biggest Sunni Islamic associations in Hamburg, Al-Nour (the light), bought the former evangelical Kapernaumkirche with the aim of transforming it into a mosque, which will be opened for religious worship on 3 October, the day of German reunification.



This is the conclusion of a story that began in 2005, when the Kapernaumkirche closed its doors for the last time. The congregation at Sunday mass could be counted on one hand and the vicar decided it was better to find a buyer for the building, built in 1961 by the architect Otto Kindt. Moreover, it's not the first church to be sold in Germany: there have been 13 churches sold in Hamburg alone in recent years and the exodus of worshippers – and money – has been constant for at least the past 20 years.



The Kapernaumkirche was first of all sold to an owner who wanted to turn it into a 'Mehrgenerationhaus', or a house for more than one generation, with apartments for the elderly as well as a nursery inside the ex-church. The building then changed hands again and this time was bought by Al-Nour, the association founded in 1993 that represents about 80% of Hamburg's muslim population.



Until now, Al-Nour practised its religious ceremonies in a garage. They are now working on transforming the interior of the church into a mosque – the exterior is protected by urban planning laws. The planned cost of the project is EUR 1 million. According to Daniel Abdin, president of Al-Nour, the mosque will be open to non-muslims as well: “The house of god will remain a house of god.”



The christian authorities in Hamburg don't agree though. “It's better to demolish the building rather than turn it into a mosque,” said Johann Heinrich Claussen, leader of the church of Hamburg and president of the association of the evangelical ecclesiastical institutions. Echoing these sentiments, the catholic bishop Hans-Jochen Jaschke said: “The interchangeability of Christianity and Islam is not the sign of good inter-religious dialogue.” The inhabitants of Horn don't share these opinions however, and have accepted the building's new purpose without protest.



Political reflections are also inevitable, as the CDU invited Al-Nour to attend the next regional committee meeting, so that the organization could introduce itself. The move was denounced by other parties who thought it was not necessary. And anyway, Al-Nour has already announced that it will organize a public presentation with photos and an information point at the new mosque.



So, despite the inevitable criticism and controversy, Germany is adjusting without too much trauma to the transformation of a church into a mosque. It's a sign that Islam is becoming more integrated in Germany. While the region of North Rhine-Westphalia introduced the teaching of Islam in elementary schools last September, the city-state of Hamburg was the first to propose a treaty for the Islamic community. The text, which has been signed by the mayor but not by the city council, guarantees “the right to build mosques, meeting places, prayer halls and educational institutions, within the framework of the law.”





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