Taliban appearance in mosque to be discussed in state parliament
The appearance of an Afghan Taliban official in a Ditib mosque in Cologne is to be discussed in the Düsseldorf state parliament on Thursday. According to information from the German Press Agency, the FDP parliamentary group is requesting a so-called current quarter of an hour in the Committee on Internal Affairs.
The Liberals' motion states that "there is still a lack of knowledge about how a high-ranking Taliban functionary was able to enter North Rhine-Westphalia in ignorance of the authorities and give a lecture on the Islamic Caliphate in a mosque belonging to the umbrella organization Ditib in Cologne."
According to the FDP, the incident is dominating the current "state political discussions" - which is why there is "an urgent public and parliamentary interest". Committee chair Angela Erwin (CDU) still has to approve the motion.
Ditib had distanced itself from the appearance in the house of prayer in the Chorweiler district. A cultural association had organized the event announced as religious on Thursday and had not adhered to a contractual agreement.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had clearly criticized the event: "The appearance of the Taliban representative in Cologne is completely unacceptable and must be strongly condemned." Nobody should "offer radical Islamists a stage in Germany." The Federal Foreign Office identified the man as Abdul Bari Omar. He is the head of the Afghan Food and Drug Authority.
- The incident involving the Taliban official's speech in a Ditib mosque has sparked concerns about the potential for extremist ideologies to infiltrate religious institutions, raising questions about the role of religion in promoting or opposing extremism.
- Despite the Taliban official's position in Afghanistan's Food and Drug Authority, his appearance at a religious event in Germany has led to a debate about the implications of religious extremism and the need for stricter border controls to prevent such incidents in the future.
Source: www.dpa.com
