Federal Court of Justice hears mosque dispute
The legal dispute over the construction of a mosque in Leinfelden-Echterdingen is entering a new round: on Friday (9.30 am), the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe will hear the case. Specifically, the case concerns a so-called heritable building right that the town in the district of Esslingen had contractually granted to a Muslim association in 2014. This gave the association the opportunity to build a mosque on the municipal property, among other things.
However, the association also undertook in the contract to complete the first construction phase within four years. If the deadline was not met, the city could demand the reassignment of the heritable building right. When the association failed to meet the deadline, the city did just that: it demanded the heritable building right back. As the association refused the retransfer, the city took legal action at first instance before the Stuttgart Regional Court.
Although the court granted the city the right to retransfer the heritable building right, it dismissed the action with regard to the plaintiff's other claims. The city and the association then appealed against the ruling and each asserted further claims. In its ruling, the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart confirmed the decision of the court of first instance in favor of the city.
The Muslim association appealed against this. It remains to be seen whether the Fifth Civil Senate at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe will issue a ruling on Friday (case reference: V ZR 191/22). According to the city, the shell of the mosque is currently complete. Some of the interior work is also already well advanced. It remains to be seen what will happen to the mosque if the town of Leinfelden-Echterdingen is proven right.
The ongoing dispute over the mosque construction in Leinfelden-Echterdingen involves municipalities, as the town granted a heritable building right to a Muslim association for the project. Religion plays a significant role in this case, as the association aims to build a mosque on the municipal property.
Source: www.dpa.com
