Pforzheim -

The arrival of Muslims to Germany in large numbers began in the sixties of the last century, when Germany used Turkish labor to build the country after World War II. This influx of Muslims came from Turkey and North Africa, which formed a new situation in German society. Muslims have a way of life linked to their religion. Including the presence of places of worship as well as halal food and Islamic burials.

The German constitution guarantees freedom of worship and the practice of religious rites, and this is what Muslims have benefited from, especially in building mosques, as it is required to establish a cultural association of several people (from 5 to 7 people) with specific administrative tasks, and then among its activities “the mosque” ".

The number of mosques in Germany - according to figures published in 2021 - is estimated at 3,230, including about 3,000 worshippers.

Including 230 large mosques with different architectural styles.

Perhaps one of the most important mosques in Germany and the first mosque with a minaret is the Al-Fateh Mosque in Pforzheim.

What is the story of this mosque?

How did it arise?

How big is it?

What are his religious and social activities?

Al-Fateh Mosque was established on March 17, 1990 and opened on September 26, 1992 (Al-Jazeera)

Pforzheim..the city of gold

The city of Pforzheim is one of the cities of the province of Baden-Wittemberg in southern Germany. It is located northwest of the province, north of the Black Forest. It is the eighth city in the province, with a population of 120 thousand people. It is called the city of gold. The war stopped, as the Germans remember it.

The Turks flocked to it, as they flocked to the rest of the German cities. The large Turkish presence in the city and its suburbs is noted through restaurants and shops, and their number is estimated at 10 thousand people, representing about 9% of the city's population.

The Turks in Germany were distinguished by building or constructing mosques, as the mosque for them is not only a house of worship, but a meeting place for people and an area for social activities and teaching the Holy Quran to their children.

They established in this city before the construction of the Al-Fateh Mosque, a group of chapels until the Al-Fateh Mosque in the Ottingen region, which became the first mosque in Germany with a minaret.

Al-Fateh Mosque .. How did the owners of the idea overcome the difficulties?

Mr. Cengiz, director of social activities at Al-Fateh Mosque, told Al-Jazeera Net, "The construction of such an edifice was a matter of imagination, and it was achieved thanks to God and the determination of those who sought it. The foundation began on March 17, 1990, and it was opened on September 26, 1992."

After obtaining the license, it was necessary to work on financing the construction, as it cost 6.5 million German marks at the time, with a land area of ​​3,142 square meters.

The mosque was built on 600 square meters, has two floors, and can accommodate 900 worshipers - 750 men and 150 women - and the minaret of the mosque is 26 meters high. It is the first minaret in Europe, and it has one dome, and there is a private house for the imam of the mosque.

The mosque was distinguished from the inside by a distinct covering and gilding of Quranic verses written on the walls of the mosque, and a huge chandelier was placed in the middle of it. A chandelier was gifted to the mosque from one of the city’s churches, according to Cengiz.

As for the difficulties encountered in building this edifice, he said, "Firstly, it was in the construction of the minaret, thank God, that was approved, and secondly the financial funding. The funding was mostly self-financed through donations. We collected 150,000 marks in one day, and women had a role in Donations where they donated their gold and jewelry, and there are those who withdrew their money from the banks and presented them to the mosque. The mosque’s administration pledged to return every amount withdrawn from the banks to its owner upon request without interest, and so everyone cooperated until the mosque was opened in the presence of the Turkish Minister of the Interior, the opening ceremony and a delegation from the Religious Endowment and was the first Director of the late Hussein Ozden mosque.

Cengiz Director of Social Activities: The Holy Quran, Islamic thought, the Prophet's biography and Islamic culture are taught (Al-Jazeera)

Social and cultural activities

“The mosque is not for performing devotional rites, but there are social and cultural activities for it.” This is how Cengiz describes the role of Al-Fateh Mosque, and he continued: In addition to the role that the mosque plays in holding prayers and Friday prayers, there are other activities.

In the mosque there is a room for guests to “sleep” for those who come to the city and do not have a place to stay, the mosque’s library with its religious and cultural books, a hall for teaching the Noble Qur’an, another for sports activities, a café for visitors and friends of the mosque, and a place for washing and shrouding the dead.

On teaching the Holy Qur’an, he said, “The Holy Qur’an, Islamic thought, the Prophet’s biography, jurisprudence and Islamic culture are taught. Education is divided into 3 sections, a section for children up to the age of 9, where they learn the Arabic letter for reading the Qur’an and are taught the meaning of the shortest surahs in Turkish, a section for youth and a section For women, the departments are staffed by male and female volunteer teachers without any compensation. The number of learners from the age of 7 to 18 is about 100 people.”

The same speaker indicated that there are a variety of sports and cultural activities, as well as meeting people and their acquaintance and preserving Turkish traditions, and there are activities specific to Ramadan, including the "Al-Muqabala" in which two people compete in memorizing the Qur'an. Karim, and there are also Iftar tables that are held daily, and they stopped for two years due to Corona and returned this year, where the number of guests for the Iftar table reaches about 150 people per day, and before Corona, it was twice that number, and these tables are funded by the mosque and some donors, as Cengiz told Al Jazeera Net .

Ghassan Al-Homaisi: I have lived in Pforzheim for 35 years and I witnessed the construction of the mosque and I prayed in it when it was only columns (Al-Jazeera)

Al-Fateh Mosque..an example of patience to achieve the lofty goal

In response to a question for Al-Jazeera Net, Ghassan Al-Homaisi said, "I have lived in Pforzheim for 35 years, and I was an eyewitness to the construction of the mosque, and I prayed in it when it was only columns. What we saw of the insistence and determination of the Turkish brothers is a lesson for all Arabs and Muslims residing in Europe." That big business needs high energy and men who carry out those business.”

He adds, "Before the Al-Fateh Mosque was built, we used to pray at Aya Sophia, which is a Turkish mosque here, and we did not expect to see an independent mosque with a minaret and a dome, but this was achieved, and although 5 mosques appeared in Pforzheim, they could not be like the Al-Fateh Mosque, but small chapels remained. Buying or renting it to increase the number of Muslims.