Penzberg, in southern Germany, is the first municipality in the country to display information on the mosque and its prayer times on official signs at the entrance to the town.

“Friday prayer. Winter: 12.30. Summer: 13.30. Muslim Forum”. The inscription appears alongside the symbol of a mosque. Above it, two other signs indicate the times of Sunday services at the Catholic and Protestant Lutheran parishes.

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In this way, Penzberg Town Council is setting a precedent that other local authorities may follow soon. The decision came after a meeting between the mayor and the spiritual leaders of these three religions. Whilst discussing the need to replace the worn-out municipal signs displaying religious information, the imam proposed adding the mosque to the list, a suggestion welcomed by both the Catholic priest and the Protestant reverend.

Benjamin Idriz, Imam of the Islamic Community, celebrates the decision as “a sign of recognition, of equal treatment towards religious communities and of freedom of religious practice”. According to N-TV, he added: “Precisely at a time when prejudice, hatred and polarisation are on the rise, these visible signs convey an important message: people of different faiths are, quite naturally, part of our society and are treated with respect”.

The announcement that Islam would be included on official signage for the first time in Germany caused something of a stir on social media. Seventy-two hours after it was installed, the sign referring to the mosque was found to have been spray-painted black. The police investigated the incident, and both the mayor and Bavaria’s Interior Minister, Joachim Herrman, called for religious tolerance.

Following a second similar incident in August, a human chain was formed around the mosque. According to the local newspaper Merkur, 450 people turned out to show their rejection of anti-Muslim hatred.

The mosque, officially known as Glaubensgemeinschaft Landkreis Weilheim-Schongau, is well known beyond Penzberg. Established in 1990 in a modern building, prayers and sermons are delivered in German (unlike at other mosques, where they are in Arabic), says its website. The place was visited by the President of the Federal Republic, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in 2019.

Survey: 58% against including Islam on signage

In the wake of the controversy, the news agency Idea commissioned a survey which showed that 58% of 2,000 respondents in Germany were against including mosque prayer times on official signage. 22% were in favour and 16% said they had no opinion.

Only those aged under 29 were in favour (46%) of the initiative, with 33% against. By religious affiliation, those most opposed were non-believers (67%), followed by Protestants (65%) and Catholics (55%). Opposition to the inclusion of signage for mosques is significantly lower amongst Evangelicals from independent churches (41%).

In Penzberg, there are at least two free evangelical churches. Their service times have not yet been included on the municipality’s official signage.

A practice since 1960

In 1960, the German Ministry of the Interior authorised local authorities to install information signs detailing the activities of Protestant and Catholic churches.

In 2008, the government announced that other religions could also benefit from this public service. Penzberg is the first German town in which the mosque is given the same prominence as the historic Christian denominations on municipal signage.