The call to prayer is raised through loudspeakers in Germany's largest mosque on Fridays

After a long wait, the German city of Cologne allowed the largest mosque in Germany to raise the call to prayer for Friday prayers through loudspeakers, after an agreement between the city and the Muslim community to ease restrictions.

The efforts of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs DITIB, in agreement with the authorities in the German city of Cologne, have resulted in the call to prayer on Fridays at Cologne Central Mosque for a period of two years.

Under a two-year initiative, all 35 mosques in Cologne will be allowed to call the call to prayer for up to five minutes on Fridays between noon and 3pm.

The condition of not disturbing the neighbors and not exceeding the sound level of 60 decibels at a distance of 100 metres will also be observed.

The project was initiated by Henriette Reeker, the mayor of Cologne, who previously said that "to allow the call of the muezzin is for me a sign of respect".

This includes Cologne's Central Mosque, which opened in 2018 after becoming a flashpoint and growing anti-Muslim sentiment on the part of far-right parties, particularly following the influx of asylum seekers in 2015-2016.

The project was supported by pan-Islamic organizations such as the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs, Milli Gorros Islamic Society and the European Turkish-Islamic Union.