Taliban Official’s Mosque Visit Sparks Outcry and Investigation

Cologne has become the focal point of a heated debate following a visit by a high-ranking Taliban official to a local mosque, prompting outrage from German authorities and the public alike.

Abdul Bari Omar, who heads Afghanistan’s Food and Drug Authority, appeared as a speaker at the Chorweiler Mosque in Cologne, an event that has since drawn sharp criticism from various quarters. The incident was particularly striking because the mosque is part of DITIB, Germany’s largest Islamic umbrella organization, which professed unawareness of the political nature of the event.

Germany’s Foreign Ministry expressed severe condemnation of Omar’s appearance and highlighted that it had not been informed of his visit, nor had it issued his visa. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser echoed this sentiment, stating that radical Islamists should not be provided with a platform in Germany, a country that offers refuge to many fleeing Taliban oppression.

Before his controversial appearance in Cologne, Omar had been in the Netherlands for a World Health Organization event and was photographed with Dutch Health Minister Ernst Kuipers, who later expressed regret over the encounter. Omar’s travel across Europe was facilitated by a Schengen visa obtained from the Dutch embassy in Tehran, allowing him free movement within the Schengen area.

DITIB’s local Cologne branch expressed deep disappointment over the betrayal of trust, emphasizing that the Afghan Cultural Association had exploited the mosque for a political event contrary to the agreement. The association has since been barred from using the premises.

German officials are now evaluating further actions in response to this incident, with the General Federal Prosecutor not currently categorizing the Taliban as a terrorist organization, and hence not illegal in Germany. However, the event has raised serious questions about visa issuance and border control, responsibilities that lie with the federal government.

Political figures such as Serap Güler, a federal parliament member from Cologne, have expressed shock at the visit, demanding a thorough investigation. The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia has also denounced the incident, with a spokesperson branding it an unacceptable act of spreading radical ideologies on German soil.

Reaffirming its position, the German Foreign Ministry stated there would be no normalization with Taliban authorities as long as they continue to violate human rights, especially those of women and girls in Afghanistan. The incident in Cologne has not only sparked a national conversation on the presence and activities of controversial figures but also on the collective responsibility to uphold human rights standards.