The administration emphasizes that the building application is legally permissible, but the city councilors still do not want the building at the local mosque. Now a court will probably have to decide.
A city council meeting like this doesn’t happen often in Memmingen, as Mayor Jan Rothenbacher (SPD) noted as he looked around. At the entrance, an employee hands out hall tickets; there are only a limited number of seats – in the end, spectators have to stay outside. The two police buses in front of the entrance and the armed police officers in the meeting room are also not part of the usual picture. However, when the Turkish Islamic Community of Memmingen applied for a minaret to be built at the local mosque, emotions are now running so high that a few preventatively placed law enforcement officers cannot do any harm.