German TV is scheduled to broadcast live Muslim Eid prayers from a mosque in a town near Munich, a move that is the first of its kind in the country’s history, Al Jazeera has learned.
The prayers, at 4:45am local time on Friday, will be aired from the Penzberg Mosque on public TV and radio broadcaster Bayerischen Rundfunk.
The sermon marks the beginning of the Eid el-Fitr holiday and the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.
Lead preacher Benjamin Idriz hailed the move as historic for Muslims in Germany [Photo provided by the Penzberg Mosque]
Benjamin Idriz, the preacher who will lead the prayers, hailed the move as historic for Muslims in Germany.
He told Al Jazeera that the broadcast will be part of a wider two-hour coverage on the Muslim holiday that will include the sermon, narration of the Islam's holy book Quran, Islamic chanting, and speeches by Christian Catholic and Protestant priests.
"In the sermon, I will deliver messages to both Muslims and non-Muslims in Germany. I will talk about the common values, and will urge the German society to open up to Muslims and visit their mosques, and also urge Muslims to open up to the German society,” the Macedonian-born German preacher said.
The emergence of “extremist groups” like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has added psychological pressure on Muslims in Germany, the 43-year-old preacher said.
He said that broadcasting the Eid programme will help the Muslim community feel more welcome and as an integral part of Germany.
Source : http://www.aljazeera.com/
