Court in Germany permits minaret construction

Court in Germany permits minaret construction

An Administrative court in the German city of Minden has ruled that the minaret which is no higher than 16 meters does not violate construction regulations which protect the rights of neighbors.

The court stated that the minaret is in harmony with the surrounding buildings and factories and is located in a far distant from the plaintiff.

The court stressed that the decision was made based on the permit request of the minaret structure and not the microphones installed ‘for the calling to prayer’.

It should be noted that this decision is not final, and may be appealed. A similar incident in 2004 took place, when the Islamic-Turkish Cultural Association in Bielefeld built a mosque after obtaining a building permit and later had to apply for another permit in 20o8 to build a minaret.

The plaintiff accused the Association of planning to ‘call for prayers’ from the minaret and the judge asserted that if such a request was asked he will make a decision according to the new procedures while considering the welfare of the neighbors.