Cologne Central Mosque

The Cologne Central Mosque is a building commissioned by German Muslims of the Organization DITIB for a large, representative Zentralmoschee in Cologne, Germany. After some controversy, the project won the approval of Cologne's city council.The mosque is designed in non-Ottoman architectural style, with glass walls, two minarets and a dome. The mosque is proposed to have a bazaar as well as other secular areas intended for interfaith interactions. As the mosque will be one of Europe's biggest, and the largest mosque in Germany, it has been criticized for its size, particularly the height of the minarets.DesignThe 48000sqft mosque will cost £15–20 million to build, aiming to house 2,000 to 4,000 worshippers. The proposed mosque will be funded by Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği (DITIB), a branch of the Turkish government's religious affairs authority, bank loans, and donations from 884 Muslim associations. Cologne's St. Theodore Catholic Church has also decided to fundraise for the mosque. The architect of the mosque is Paul Böhm, who specializes in building churches.The planned mosque will not be in the Ottoman architecture style. It will have a concrete and glass dome, and two 55 meter high minarets. The mosque will have the bazaar and entrance on the ground floor, lecture halls in the basement, the prayer area on the upper floor and include a Muslim library. A well is intended to be placed in the center to connect the two levels and to create a pleasant atmosphere. The mosque consists of flat-like wall screens which form a dome in the center.