Taboo-breaking liberal mosque opens in Berlin

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With a mission to spread a liberal form of Islam, a mosque where men and women pray side by side has opened its doors in Berlin, complete with female imams.

The Arabic phrase "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) resonated through the crowded Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Mosque Friday as US-Malaysian Ani Zonneveld, one of the world's few female imams, launched the call to prayer.

Then one of the founders of the new place of worship, lawyer and women's rights activist Seyran Ates, opened the event with words of welcome before Christian and Jewish guests and a large media contingent.

Seyran Ates (C- wearing white) is surrounded by media as she plans an inaugural Friday prayer at the Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Mosque in Berlin, June 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

"We want to send a signal against Islamic terror and the misuse of our religion," said Turkish-born Ates, 54, dressed in a long white robe. "We want to practice our religion together."

Ates, no stranger to breaking taboos, having called for a "sexual revolution" in the Muslim world, vowed she would not allow ultra-conservatives "to rob me of my right to be Muslim."

Kneeling on green carpets, the faithful, men and women, side by side, bowed to Mecca for the traditional prayer as the imam spoke in German.

Muslim men and women pray together during an inaugural Friday prayer at the Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Mosque in Berlin, June 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

Some of the women wore veils or head coverings, others did not.

'Depoliticize' Islam

The new mosque, the 88th in the German capital, is located in a rented room on the third floor of the Protestant Johanniskirche (St. John's Church) building.

German-Turkish lawyer, author and activist Seyran Ates (R) readies the prayer area prior to an inaugural Friday prayer at the Ibn Rushd-Goethe-mosque in Berlin, June 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

All Muslims, Sunni or Shia, Alawite or Sufi, are welcome in the mosque named after one of Germany's greatest writers, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and 12th century Islamic scholar Ibn Rushd, also known as Averroes.

The seven founding members said they want to open their prayer hall to all groups, including gays and lesbians.

"This mosque allows Muslims to define themselves in a new way," said co-founder and German Islam scholar Abdel-Hakim Ourghi.

Seyran Ates, founder of the new liberal Ibn-Rushd-Goethe-Mosque, prays in Berlin, Germany, June 16, 2017. /VCG Photo

He added that "we will try to depoliticize Islam", as the religion was being torn by rival political movements. "Because religion is a private matter."

Police stood guard outside the entrance of the building.

The founders said they had not received any threats or insults, but that they fully expected not everyone would be happy.

(Source: AFP)

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