Now that the city of Cologne has allowed 35 mosques to publicly sound the muezzin call, the well-known Cologne author, blogger, presenter, director, comedian and actor Gerd Buurmann has asked the municipality when he may sound this message across Cologne. “Allah is not great! I believe that there is no God, not even Allah. I declare that Mohammed was not a messenger of God. Stop the prayer! On to the best doubting! On to heresy! Allah is not great! There is no God, not even Allah!”
In Germany, freedom of religion is a fundamental right enshrined in Article 4 of the Basic Law. The EU also has a similar understanding of rights. For many years, Islam, “like many other religions, has been an integral part of German society”.
The City authorities, eager to submit to Islam, are flummoxed.