MANNHEIM, Germany, April, 7 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – In a new effort to clear stereotypes build bridges with non-Muslims, Germany's biggest mosque has formed a team to introduce Islam to curious Germans.

“The team organizes regular tours for visitors of Fateh mosque in the city of Mannheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, who week first hand information on Islam,” Bilal Bohrmann, a team member, told the Web site of the Milli Gorus Islamic organization, a body in charge of the mosque.

He added that the visits are organized particularly for school and university students and staffers, Christian bodies and curious individuals who want to know more about Islam, Muslims and mosques.

The questions, Bohrmann noted, usually revolve around the status of women in Islam and Islam's stance on peace and war.

“The team also sheds light on the conditions of the Muslim minority in Germany, activities of the mosque and Islamic tenets,” he added.

The Fateh mosque, Germany’s biggest, was built in 1995 with a capacity of 1,500 worshipers.

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

They further circulated photocopies of the “paper of principles”, which was ratified by the Muslim council in April outlining the Muslims’ relation with society and the state.

Non-Muslim visitors attend discussion forums in the mosque to get first hand knowledge about Islamic tenets.

The mosque tours are aimed washing away all misconceptions about Islam and Muslims.

“We are trying to clear stenotypes and build bridges of dialogue with the other,” said Songul Ozsaglam, another team member.

She stressed that the team members are not only keen on serving Islam, but also German society.

“This could be achieved by engaging in open dialogue with the other and explaining Islamic tenets to the non-Muslims.”

Under the German constitution, acknowledged Islamic bodies have the right to receive government assistance to establish Islamic centers in the country.

There are 2,200 mosques and praying rooms in Germany, most of which are built by Turkish bodies. The oldest mosque in Germany was built in Berlin in 1924.

Work is in full swing in Dusiburg to build Germany’s biggest mosque funded by the government, the European Union and Muslim bodies in the north-central European country.

The construction of the mosque, with a capacity to accommodate 3,000 worshipers, is expected to be completed by early 2007.

Islam comes third in Germany after Protestant and Catholic Christianity.

There are some 3.4 million Muslims in the country, including 220,000 in Berlin. An estimated two thirds of them are of Turkish origin.

Germany’s mass-circulation Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported in July that Germans reverting to Islam have risen dramatically in the past few years and are keen on leaving their indelible marks on society.