Berlin mosque steps up security amid fears

(31 Jan 2020) A mosque in central Berlin has heightened security measures to help worshippers feel safe while performing their prayers.

Germany is home to millions of Muslims but some members of the community say are increasingly feeling unsafe there.



At the Omar ibn Khattab Mosque in central Berlin, the increased vigilance by security staff is palpable after the mosque's administration stepped up security to keep worshippers safe.

People making their way into the mosque have their bags carefully inspected by security and while prayers are in progress, a guard stands outside to keep watch.

With fears of Islamophobia-driven attacks abound, the mosque has hired more security guards.

Yet even with the heightened security measures, there is trouble at the Omar ibn Khattab Mosque from time to time.

"We meet some people who want to make problems inside the mosque, so it is important to prevent them from doing these things," says Yusuf Dawood, a member of the mosque's security staff.

Those troublemakers are "unwelcome" in the mosque, he says, adding that if things get too out of hand, the police is brought in.

Attacks on Muslims have increased in Germany in recent years after the country took in an influx of more than 1 million mostly Muslim migrants in 2015, mostly refugees from Syria.

The inflow of the newcomers coupled with a surge in populism has led to rising tensions for the Muslim community there.  

The sentiment of fear and uncertainty is reflected in the numbers collected by the German interior ministry and the Central Council of Muslims in Germany.

According to the interior ministry, 1,075 Islamophobic crimes were recorded and 239 mosques were attacked in 2017. The preliminary number for 2018 is 910, although this includes incidents like the drawing of swastikas as well.

That same year, the council recorded "more than a thousand" attacks against Muslims and there is a "very, very big" number of unreported cases, says the council's secretary general, Abdassamad al-Yazidi.

In a city the size of Berlin, security measures are important to make people feel safe while attending prayers, says mosque manager, Birol Ucjan.

"Here in Berlin, millions of people of all types live here, including lots of fascists, and for that, we want to keep our visitors safe," he says.

Ucjan says the mosque's administration maintains a very good relationship with the police.

Worshipper Abdul Rahman says given the attacks against Muslims around the world, "it is a lot better" that the mosque adopted "such security measure".

"It is really good. People feel very safe here. A lot of people come to this mosque," he adds.

"We have some kind of Islamophobia rising in Germany," al-Yazidi adds.

Far-right extremists have been suspected in many attacks on Muslims in Germany, including a threatening letter containing white powder that prompted the evacuation of the Central Council of Muslims' offices in 2018.

In 2018, Muslim groups in Germany asked for greater solidarity from officials and the general public over a series of attacks against mosques.

In June last year, the German government condemned an incident in which around 50 copies of the Quran were damaged at a mosque.

Police by then said that one or more people ripped up copies of the Islamic holy book at a mosque in the northwestern city of Bremen.

Al-Yazidi says while previously there was usually a single attack a month on women wearing the headscarf, or hijab, that number has gone up to three or four attacks a week.



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