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The Turkish-Islamic Community of Fulda (DITIB) has celebrated its 50th anniversary and is already planning the next big step.
Fulda – “Founded in Fuldaer Meistergasse in 1976, today we honor half a century of full commitment from our members,” explains Halit Koçak, member of the board of DITIB Fulda, during the ceremony on Sunday (May 10th). Today the community has around 450 members and looks back on an eventful history. DITIB now has more Muslims from Afghanistan, Syria and other Muslim countries in Fulda than from Turkey.
“Since its founding, DITIB Fulda has been based at seven different locations in the city. That's an unusual number and shows, on the one hand, new beginnings, but also setbacks,” says Dr. Heiko Wingenfeld (CDU), Mayor of Fulda, said in his welcoming speech. “What you have done for society has not yet been sufficiently recognized,” says Wingenfeld, expressing his respect for DITIB’s contribution to Fulda’s urban development. The early years in particular would have required sacrifice.
Turkish-Islamic community DITIB celebrates 50 years of existence
In addition to the location on Meistergasse, DITIB moved to Karlstrasse, then to Von-Schildeck-Strasse, later to Buttermarkt, Florengasse, Ohmstrasse and finally acquired the former Josef Link furniture store on Max-Reger-Strasse in 2013. At the same time, the purchase of the property represented a burden for the community, as its renovation resulted in debts of more than one million euros due to poor structural planning, as Koçak notes. It was not until 2017 that the construction work was completed and DITIB moved to Max-Reger-Straße. Today, however, the financial worries are a thing of the past as the club is now debt-free.
“The area is 3,400 square meters and offers a 350 square meter prayer area,” says Recep Yücel, chairman of DITIB Fulda, expressing his pride in the current location. He emphasizes the cohesion, solidarity and willingness to sacrifice of the community members that made the purchase of the property possible. “Our story began with the first generation of guest workers. Today we form a large mosaic together with other religions in Fulda.” In this context, Yücel emphasizes interreligious dialogue.
Pastor Winfried Bittner, Islam representative for the diocese of Fulda, also attaches great importance to this exchange. “In 1976, the year you were founded, I was a theology student in my second semester. At that time I was not aware of the presence of Muslims in Fulda.” Today, interreligious understanding is more necessary than ever, warns Bittner. The different religions should come together and work together for a life in peace. However, fanatics and extremists made this difficult. For example, September 11, 2001, the attack on the New York Twin Towers, brought Islam into disrepute.
Today, the AfD, a party that rejects Islam, is gaining increasing popularity and, according to current surveys, is the strongest force nationwide. The party also made gains in the most recent local elections in the city and district of Fulda last March. Against this background, an increase in hostility towards Muslims in general and DITIB in particular appears likely. “Personally, I don’t feel any of this in Fulda,” explains Koçak. “We've never had walls smeared or stones thrown. Fulda is a peaceful city for Muslims.”
Bringing people together, breaking down prejudices, creating mutual understanding
To ensure that it stays that way, “our approximately 900 mosque communities across Germany promote conscious coexistence among people and create spaces for dialogue,” says Hasan Doluca, professor at the Faculty of Economics at DHBW Mosbach and associate member of DITIB Hessen, in his welcoming speech. “We want to bring people together, break down prejudices and create mutual understanding.”
Wingenfeld agrees. A world that is characterized by wars, conflicts and antagonism must be countered by cooperation. “People from over 100 nations live in Fulda. Our big task is to be open and approach each other. We have to build bridges,” Wingenfeld addresses the community members, “You can be a bridge builder because you know what it means to arrive in Fulda.”
In the future, DITIB Fulda wants to do justice to this task in its own mosque with minarets. As Koçak mentions, the association is pushing for a corresponding new building, which has become more likely due to the acquisition of the Good Year area by the city of Fulda. “Fulda is a very important city for us,” explains Erdinç Evirgen, Turkish Consul General in Kassel, during his speech. He would like to see more presence of city representatives than before at upcoming DITIB community events. (By Toni Spangenberg)
Anniversaries are celebrated again and again in the region. Just recently The RhönEnergie Challenge has transformed Fulda into a running stronghold for the 20th time.
