A group of Muslims is touring German states this summer with a “rolling mosque” in an attempt to educate the German public about the Islamic religion, Deutsche Welle reported.
The “rolling mosque”, which has two minarets, is built on top of a truck, with the word “Islamobil” – made up from the words Islam and automobile – written on its side.
One of the founders of the “Islamobil” project said that it was aimed at clarifying misconceptions about Islam in Germany, where more than five million Muslims live.
''First we established an organization with the goal of informing Germans about Islam,'' Gülüzar Keskin said. ''Then we thought it would be a very good and practical idea to create a mobile mosque and travel around Germany in it."
The main goal of the “rolling mosque” is for Muslims to reach out to non-Muslims, instead of waiting for the reverse to happen, he added.
Organizers say that some of the visitors read the information boards hung on the mosque’s walls that explain the history and basic principals of Islam, while others focus on a flat screen that displays a short film about mosque construction and the meaning that mosques have for Muslims.
The display allows people to ''find out about Islam, what it means to be Muslim and the basic principals of the religion like fasting, praying and this and that,” said Tayyib Shamsuddin, from the Muslim Working Committee of Hanau.
The “rolling mosque” has so far attracted visitors of all ages.
One elderly woman praised the idea, saying that there “is a lot of information here that I've never seen in this form before.”
“I think it's very interesting,” she added.
Although the project cost 250,000 euros, plus the monthly maintenance costs, Keskin believes that the positive feedback from the visitors has made it a good investment.
''Many visitors have already asked us if we have addresses for mosques nearby, so that they can get more information about Islam,” he said.
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