Berlin's mosques

The Berlin Mosque, surrounded by residential homes in Berlin's Wilmersdorf district, is the oldest surviving mosque in Germany. The building was designed by German architect Karl August Herrmann and was officially opened in 1928. It is modeled on the Taj Mahal in India.

All sermons have been held in German since the mosque was opened, although the calligraphy on the prayer room walls is in Arabic. The complex was originally built for the purpose of proselytizing - the first German couple who converted to Islam was married here in 1934. Today the mosque is mainly used for Friday prayers and as an information center.

The scars of time are visible on the Ahmadiyya Mosque's inner walls. The structure was badly damaged by Soviet army bombardments during World War II. It was later restored during the postwar period, thanks to help from the Allies and donations from Lahore. The mosque has been listed as a historical monument since 1993.

Another house of worship belonging to the Ahmadiyya community is located in Berlin's Heinersdorf district. The Khadija mosque was the first to be built in what used to be communist East Germany, and is a fusion of Western and Islamic architecture. Here, the modernist Bauhaus style is coupled with the characteristic dome and a 12.5-meter (41-foot) minaret.

There were violent protests leading up to the mosque's opening in 2008. The fact that it was finally accepted by the community is to the credit of the "Open up Heinersdorf" initiative and its first Imam Abdul Basit Tariq, who advocated for openness, sharing and "love for all, hatred for none."

Functionality is a key feature of the building's interior, and local architect Mubashra Ilyas shied away from using too many decorative elements. The building has enough space for a total of 500 worshippers. The lower rooms can accommodate around 250 people, and there's a separate area above the main hall reserved for women.

The Sehitlik Mosque in Neukölln serves as a cultural center as well as a place of worship. It can hold up to 1,500 people, and is the largest Islamic mosque in Berlin. It was one of the selected locations visited by German President Joachim Gauck during his official inauguration in 2012.

The mosque was built next to the Islamic Sehitlik cemetery in the 1980s and was later extended. Prussian King Wilhelm I transfered the land to the Turkish community back in 1866. Today, only funeral ceremonies are performed on the property. The dead are then usually taken to other cemeteries or to their home countries.

The mosque isn't just for Muslims. The Sehitlik community also seeks to foster a relationship with Berlin's non-Muslim population. The mosque hosts a variety of events and offers tours several times a day. Guides point out the mosque's features and aim to give visitors a better understanding of the principles of Islam.

At first glance, the Umar Ibn Al-Khattab Mosque doesn't look like a place of worship. It blends in rather harmoniously with this street block in the heart of Kreuzberg. It's part of the Islamic Mashari Center, where shops, cafes and a travel agency are housed next to prayer rooms. A madrasa was also opened here in 2008.

Magnificently decorated walls and ceilings form the backdrop for the washrooms in the Mashari center's basement. This is where the faithful carry out their ritual ablutions. Islam requires devout Muslims to pray five times a day, but before they can do this they need to ensure physical and mental purity.

There's enough space for about 1,000 people in the prayer room beneath the opulent chandeliers. Most of those who come to the mosque have Turkish roots, but Bosnians, Arabs and Africans also attend prayer here. The Friday prayer is usually held in Arabic, while screens on the walls give translations in German and Turkish.

This dome stands out like a molehill in the mosque's backyard. Even Islamic places of worship are subject to Berlin's building regulations - this green roof is obligatory under the city's codes. At the front of the property there's another dome made of glass, where the site's caretaker lives.