The Mevlana Mosque in Berlin-Kreuzberg: An Unsolved Conflict

This paper describes a public conflict over the building of a mosque in Berlin. The conflict covered the best part of three years. It started in 1999 with a misunderstanding, steadily culminated over a period of two years and was finally cemented into stalemate after 11 September 2001. It has not been solved yet. A description of the historical background and the local setting in which the conflict emerged sets the scene. The main narrative describes the phases of the conflict. In conclusion, the question is raised as to why it took such a disastrous course.