Ibn Rushd-Goethe Mosque

The mosque is open to Sunni, Shia and other Muslims. Full-face veils, such as burqas or niqabs, are not allowed. Men and women pray together in the mosque and women are not obligated to wear a headscarf. Furthermore, gay and lesbian Muslims are allowed to enter the mosque and can worship. It is the first mosque of its kind in the world. Founder Seyran Ateş said: == History ==

The mosque was founded on 16 June 2017 by Seyran Ateş, a German lawyer and feminist of Turkish and Kurdish descent. It was named after the Andalusian-Arabic polymath, Ibn Rushd (also known as Averroes), and the German writer and statesman, Goethe. == Reactions ==

Following massive threats after the opening, the founders of the mosque commented on the immense intimidation that liberal Muslims faced. They asked for tolerance and respect with regard to their reading of the Quran. The personal security for Ateş was increased significantly after evaluation by the State Criminal Police Office of Berlin. In July 2017, Ateş reported that she had received about 100 death threats since the mosque's opening. Turkish mass media displayed the Rushd-Goethe Mosque as part of the Gülen movement, a claim denied by Ercan Karakoyun, chairman of the Gülen-affiliated foundation in Germany Stiftung Dialog und Bildung. The claim was also denied by the mosque itself. Turkish media were critical, and Ateş received threats and hostility, both from radical and enemies and critics of Islam, in Germany and abroad. The fatwa institution in Egypt, the Egyptian Fatwa Council at the Al-Azhar University, labelled the mosque an attack on Islam, and declared a fatwa against the mosque. The Turkish religious authority and the Egyptian authority condemned Ateş' project and Ateş subsequently received death threats. The fatwa encompassed all present and future liberal mosques. == See also ==