Berlin mosque puts up rainbow flag in support of LGBT

Berlin –

A mosque in Berlin be the first in German put a rainbow flag on the building to support the community LGBT. Installation rainbow flag it comes ahead of two gay community events in Berlin this month.

As reported AFP, Saturday (2/7/2022), Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque located in the Moabit area unfurled a rainbow flag before Friday prayers were held on Friday (1/7) local time. The installation was carried out in front of a large crowd, including Berlin’s cultural senator Klaus Lederer.

Many people in attendance were wearing rainbow-colored stickers with the words “Love is Halal”.

The Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque, which was founded five years ago, is known to be the only mosque that claims to be liberal in Germany. The mosque allows male and female worshipers to pray together and declares it is open to LGBT congregations.

Mo El-Ketab, one of the six Imams at the mosque, said he wanted the mosque to provide a ‘safe place for different people, so they too can experience the spiritual side of their lives’.

“I hope that many other mosques also display the (rainbow) flag in this way or provide other positive signs for the LGBT community,” El-Ketab said in a statement.

It is known that two major events to support the LGBT community will be in Berlin this month, namely the Lesbian and Gay Festival on 16-17 July and Christopher Street Day (CSD) on 23 July.

CSD board member Marc-Eric Lehmann said flying the rainbow flag provided a ‘very strong sign’ and was ‘very important’ to find a place for religion in the LGBT community.

“People queer can also be religious and believe in God. We should not only talk about safe places in bars and nightclubs in Berlin, we should also talk about safe places in places of worship,” he said.

Also check out ‘LGBT Flag Tail, PBNU Asks British Embassy to Respect Customs and Traditions’:

[Gambas:Video 20detik]

(nvc / idh)

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