EU Minister Bağış sends letter to Sweden for ezan move

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

EU Minister Egemen Bağış. DHA photo

EU Minister Egemen Bağış has sent a letter to his Swedish counterpart, Birgitta Ohlsson, after a mayor’s council in Sweden has approved for the first time the reciting the “ezan,” the Muslim call to prayer, from the minaret of a mosque.

“I am pleased to learn about your visit to the Fittja Mosque in the Swedish town of Botkyrka and to read your statement regarding the City Council’s decision permitting recitation of the call to prayer (ezan). Your visit and statement will definitely contribute to the further participation of Muslim communities in the social life of Sweden and to the strengthening of dialogue and understanding among the followers of different faiths both in Sweden and also in the continent at a time when Islamophobia is on the rise in many countries,” the letter to Ohlsson reads. From the end of March, the ezan is expected to be recited on Fridays from the minaret of the Fittja Grand Mosque.

Bağış wrote that mutual respect to the values and symbols of each other are of significant importance to ensure the coexistence of various cultures in harmony.