German radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk Kultur has claimed that the Islamic holy month of Ramadan is not only an “old German custom” but that it had been celebrated in the country longer than Oktoberfest.
In an article, journalist Eren Güvercin claims that Ramadan is a thoroughly German holiday and that there is no question that Islam belongs to Germany.
Güvercin maintains that the practice is older the Oktoberfest, also known in Bavaria as Wiesn. While he provides no evidence for his assertion, the earliest Wiesn celebrations are thought to have been held on 12 October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Prince Ludwig, later King Ludwig I, and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen.
The oldest mosque in Germany, by contrast, was built in Berlin in 1915 and was discovered by an archaeological team in 2015. The mosque, which was made of wood, was thought to have been intended for Muslim prisoners of war as it was built inside a World War One-era prison camp.
“Fasting in the month of Ramadan has long been part of the German religious landscape. It is a German reality. To break the fast in the evening, many people gather in Germany to eat together and to meet each other,” Güvercin said.
“Islamic religious practice has long since found its home in Germany. And we German Muslims are looking forward to Ramadan in our Germany. Nobody can deny that to us,” he added.
The article comes after Interior Minister Horst Seehofer stated that Islam did not belong to Germany and was later contradicted by his coalition partner, Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A poll of the German public revealed that they sided with Seehofer with 75 per cent stating that Islam probably did not belong to Germany or absolutely did not belong to the country.
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