GERMANY: Construction of mosque halted after German patriots erect ten giant crosses on the building site

The group planted the wooden structures in the small village of Marbach, near Erfurt, in the central eastern state of Thuringia, in early March. The owner of the site has said he plans to take legal action against the activists, named as ‘Citizens for Erfurt.’

UK Daily Mail (h/t Susan K)  The mosque is being constructed for the Ahmadiyya Muslims in the area. The sect of Islam was founded in the 19th Century by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. The community’s imam, Imam Said Ahmad Arif, said the move by the right-wing demonstrators would not stop the construction of the Mosque.

He  said the demonstrators were in the minority and that the Muslim community had received support from a range of politicians.

On the Citizens for Erfurt Facebook page, the group wrote: ‘We built a sign of identity and our way of life. For the preservation of our culture.’

Evangelical pastor Ricklef Muennich condemned the actions of Citizens for Erfurt. He said: ‘There is no reason to ram ten crosses into the ground as a sign of battle. The cross of Jesus really stands for love, for love of your neighbor and your enemies.

But Corina Herold, spokeswoman in the Thuringia state parliament, said the planting of the crosses was a ‘fundamentally good’ action. She claimed that Muslims do not need a mosque in which to worship and should be content with prayer houses.

A spokesperson for the Thuringia state government said they could not remove the crosses because they had been erected on private land.