A Muslim feminist has set her sights on opening Germany’s first liberal mosque in response to recent terror attacks.
the Associated Press reports the mosque will not discriminate based on sexual orientation, gender, or ideological attitudes.
In Seyran Ates’ commencement address, she proclaimed her project was long overdue. She proceeded to address the mosques’ significance in the international war on terror. “There’s so much Islamist terror and so much evilness happening in the name of my religion. … It’s important that we, the modern and liberal Muslims, also show our faces in public.”
The mission statement of the mosque is to become a place of worship that separates itself from religious conflict.
As a solution to growing radicalization, Ates assured Berlin that “there won’t be any hate preaching against democracy here.”
Apparently, Ates assured skeptics there is no need to monitor such “liberal” mosques, because radical views will be denounced and members are free to openly question longstanding Islamic beliefs, no matter how controversial.
Despite the mosque being advertised as open and accepting, Ates draws a line at burqas. In spite of the mosques’ mission statement prohibiting discrimination, Ates defends her ban on burqas noting “security reasons”. As an ulterior motive for the ban, Ates concedes that “full-face veils have nothing to do with religion, but rather are a political statement”, suggesting that political discourse has no place in her mosque.
Ates confesses that the feedback has not been entirely positive. “I’ve received a few messages via social media, mostly full of expletives,” she admits. Ates carries on to say that “95% of the feedback has been beautiful and positive”.
The mosque begins operations out of a sole room on the third floor of an old Lutheran Church.