2018-10-03 Tag der Offenen Moschee-9861-06

The Day of the Open Mosque () in Germany is an annually scheduled event day that has existed since 1997 and takes place on

October 3 Events Pre-1600 * 2457 BC – Gaecheonjeol, Hwanung (환웅) purportedly descended from heaven. South Korea's National Foundation Day. * 52 BC – Gallic Wars: Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius ...

, the

Day of German Unity German Unity Day (, ) is the national day of Germany, celebrated on 3 October as a public holiday. It commemorates German Reunification in 1990 when the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) joined the Federal Republic of Germany (West Ger ...

. On this day, the mosque communities offer the predominantly non-Muslim visitors mosque tours, panel discussions and book and art exhibitions. Folklore, tea, coffee and pastries are also often part of the social program. According to the

Central Council of Muslims in Germany The Central Council of Muslims in Germany (ZMD; ) is an Islamic organization in Germany. With 15,000 to 20,000 members, mainly German, German Arab, and German Turkish Muslims, it has less than half the size of the Islamrat für die Bundesrep ...

, the date was deliberately chosen to highlight the goal of cross-religious understanding. It is also intended to express the Muslims' self-image of being part of the German state, which was reunified in 1990, and their solidarity with all non-Muslim inhabitants of Germany. In 2021, the Open Mosque Day celebrated its 25th anniversary during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

History

The Day of the Open Mosque (TOM) goes back to an initiative of the

(ZMD) in Cologne in 1997, in which other Muslim umbrella organizations participated. It was also prompted by the European Year against Racism and Xenophobia (1997) and the Intercultural Week - Week of Foreign Citizens from September 28 to October 4, 1997. The Intercultural Week takes place annually at the end of September, from Sunday to Saturday before Thanksgiving. On the first Open Mosque Day on October 3 and 4, 1997, 600 mosques nationwide participated. Since then, around 1,000

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

s from various Islamic associations throughout Germany have opened their doors to over 100,000 visitors every year. Since 2007, Open Mosque Day has been managed by the Coordination Council of Muslims in Germany (KRM). The KRM is the umbrella organization of the four largest Islamic organizations in Germany: the Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği (DİTİB), the Islamic Council for the Federal Republic of Germany (Islamrat), the Association of Islamic Cultural Centers (VIKZ) and the

(ZMD). The KRM was founded during the German Islam Conference in 2007. Every year, the Coordination Council uses a motto to promote the Open Mosque Day, in which more than 1,000 mosque communities participate: * 2007: Mosques - bridges for a common future * 2008: Mosques - Places of Reflection and Celebration * 2009: Mosques - An integral part of society / 60 years of the Federal Republic and its Muslims * 2010: The

Koran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

- 1400 years, up-to-date and in the middle of life * 2011:

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

- Prophet of Mercy * 2012: Islamic art and culture * 2013: Environmental protection - Mosques take action * 2014: Social responsibility - Muslims for society * 2015: Young Muslims in Germany - Motivated, Committed, Active * 2016:

Hijrah The Hijrah, () also Hegira (from Medieval Latin), was the journey the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers took from Mecca to Medina. The year in which the Hijrah took place is also identified as the e ...

- Migration as a Challenge and Opportunity * 2017: Good Neighborhood - Better Society * 2018: Religiosity - Individual, Natural, Normal * 2019: People make home(s) * 2020: Faith in extraordinary times * 2021: 25 years of TOM - Mosques yesterday and today * 2022: Scarce resources - great responsibility * 2023: Prayer - Reflects, Enlivens, Connects

Opinions

The managing director of the

German Cultural Council The German Culture Council, or Deutscher Kulturrat in German, is the umbrella organization of the German cultural associations and has its headquarters in Berlin. It is a political and lobbying association, member, for example, of Euro ...

, Olaf Zimmermann, spoke of an excellent opportunity to get closer to a supposedly foreign

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and expressed the opinion that

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

is an important part of Germany. The choice of October 3 as the date for the Open Mosque Day has been criticized. In 2007, for example, the chairman of the CDU parliamentary group in the Hessian state parliament, Christean Wagner, criticized the fact that the Open Mosque Day was being held "on German Unity Day, of all days." The CDU politician called the choice of date "insensitive" and "not very clever".

Open Mosque Day in other countries

Switzerland

Since 2007, several Muslim umbrella organizations have also organized an Open Mosque Day, including the Federation of Islamic Umbrella Organizations in Switzerland, the Umbrella Association of Islamic Communities in Eastern Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein (DIGO), and the Association of Islamic Organizations in Zurich (VIOZ). The day was also offered for the first time in November 2007 as part of the "Week of Religions" series of events organized by the Interreligious Working Group in Switzerland (IRAS COTIS). In 2011, the Open Mosque Day was held on September 10. The motto was "Bridges for a common future". In 2014, it was held on November 8.

USA

In southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, Annual Open Mosque Day has taken place since 2000. The US Council of Muslim Organizations has encouraged participation in National Open Mosque Day, which it first organized in October 2016. The

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

chapter of the

Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nation ...

organized an Open Mosque Day in the state in 2017 and 2018. The Islamic Council of New England has organized an annual Open Mosque Day among its participating communities, taking place in May or June, since 2019. In 2018, the

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

chapter of the

organized a Central Ohio Open Mosque Day among seven mosques in

Central Ohio The Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Central Ohio surrounding the state capital of Columbus. As defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it includes the counties of Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Hocking, Licking, Madison, Mo ...

. In 2019, Ahmadiyya Muslim Community USA held an Open Mosque Day in 40 locations across 25 states, which coincided with

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

France

The day of the open mosque in France, the Mosquée porte ouverte should take place on September 16, 2011.

Great Britain

Since 2015, the Muslim umbrella organization The Muslim Council of Britain has held a nationwide open mosque day on February 18 called "

Visit my Mosque Visit My Mosque day is a national initiative facilitated by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), encouraging mosques across the United Kingdom to hold mosque open days. The Muslim Council of Britain is a representative Muslim umbrella organizati ...

".{{Cite web , date=2022-06-18 , title=Visit My Mosque 2023 – Register Your Mosque Today! , url=https://visitmymosque.org/ , access-date=2023-10-03 , language=en-GB

References

Islam in Germany October observances