Corrected information on organizer of Taliban appearance
Following the appearance of a high-ranking Taliban official in a mosque in Cologne, the umbrella organization Ditib has corrected its original information about the organizer. "Unfortunately, we made a very unfortunate mistake with the name of the association, so that we incorrectly stated the "Afghan Cultural Association Meschenich e.V." as the organizer and user of the hall," the umbrella organization, to which the mosque belongs, announced on Saturday evening. In fact, the hall had been made available to people known to Ditib as the board of the association "Kulturverein der Kunar Jugendlichen e.V." and acting on its behalf.
The "Afghan Cultural Association Cologne Meschenich" had previously declared that it was not involved in the event and that the association's name had been misused.
The umbrella organization Ditib went on to say that it sincerely regretted the "considerable damage" caused to the originally named association and once again distanced itself from the event. "The Taliban's inhuman, misogynistic and anti-freedom mindset can in no way be legitimized by our faith and as Muslims we are firmly opposed to this interpretation."
A high-ranking representative of the Afghan Taliban had appeared in a house of prayer in Cologne's Chorweiler district on Thursday. According to a spokesperson, the Federal Ministry of the Interior had no prior knowledge of this. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) strongly criticized the appearance and called for clarification.
The mistake in attributing the Taliban event to the "Afghan Cultural Association Meschenich e.V." highlighted the association's distance from extremist views, as they expressed their opposition to the Taliban's ideology, which contradicts their religion's stance on human rights and freedom. The Taliban's appearance in a house of prayer stirred controversy, with religion becoming a complex intertwine of beliefs, practices, and political extremism.
Source: www.dpa.com
