A file photo of German Muslims performing prayers in a Munich mosque.

By Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent

MUNICH, January 23 (IslamOnline.net) – Celebrating the four-day `Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice), a major occasion in the Islamic calendar, German Muslims were keen on respecting the rights of non-Muslim compatriots.

The Islamic Center in the southern city of Munich notified police in advance of the timing of `Eid prayers to avoid traffic congestions.

“The center was also keen on apologizing to non-Muslim neighbors for any inconvenience during the feast,” which started Thursday, January 20, Ahmad Khalifa, the public relations officer in the Islamic Center, told IslamOnline.net.

Hassan Ghunema, a German citizen of Egyptian origin living in Berlin, also told IOL that German media gave prominence to `Eid rites and extended greetings to the Muslim community.

German presidents used to greet the Muslim community on the holy month of Ramadan, `Eid Al-Fitr (feast of breaking the fast) and `Eid Al-Adha.

Islam comes third after Protestant and Catholic Christianity. There are some 3.4 million Muslims in Germany, including 220,000 in Berlin alone.

An estimated two thirds of the Muslim community are of Turkish origin.

Greetings

Non-Muslim Germans were keen on greeting their fellow Muslim citizens on `Eid Al-Adha and some even joined the festivities.

“Churches in Munich and lay people have sent cables to the Islamic Center in the southern city and Muslim neighbors, wishing them a very happy `Eid,” Khalifa said.

He thanked non-Muslims for bearing well the crowdedness and any other inconvenience caused by celebrating Muslims.

Khalifa further said that the center will reciprocate the nice feelings by inviting fellow non-Muslim citizens to a thank-you party two weeks from now.

Some 40 Muslim youths, aged 18-30, set up a kiosk in central Hamburg on December 21-24, distributing illustrative materials on Islam among attentive and enthusiastic passers-by.

The energetic volunteers used “Muslims Against Terror” as their mantra to reinforce the fact that Muslims have nothing to do with terrorism.

President Horst Kohler stressed in May the importance of entering into a dialogue with Muslims in view of the rising Islamophobia in the country.

His predecessor had said that Muslims in Germany should not be treated as second-class citizens, asserting that they have become part and parcel of German society.

Anti-Muslim voices spoke louder than ever in 2004 as dealing with the Muslim community became the overriding concern of German officials and the right-wing parties.