The proliferation of Ramzan lights across Europe at Easter time is ‘causing concerns’ in several European countries, and some people feel that the authorities have undermined Easter by downplaying Christian traditions amid Ramzan, according to a UK-based news agency.
The city of Cologne, known for Christian activities in Germany, staged a different religious event during the Christian Holy Week. Some five miles away from northern Europe’s most famous cathedral in the city, hundreds of Muslims attended the city’s first communal iftar.
London, where almost one in seven residents are Muslim, has been the inspiration for the ‘Happy Ramzan’ display in Cologne, the report said.
Saliha Bektas, a German law student, said, “We believe if the wider population knows that Ramzan is taking place, we can get people talking about it.”
“We do not want to cause a fuss or Islamise anything,” she added.
Furthermore, in Norway’s Oslo, a publicly funded display is sparkling near the city hall for 30 days of Ramzan. The council chief, Lae Solberg, asserted at the opening ceremony that “the Ramzan lights show that we stand for community and inclusion.”
The ceremony was interrupted by ‘Stop Islamization of Norway’ protesters contentiously burning the holy Quran.
Max Roland, the founder of a popular German news site, expressed reservations about the displays by stating that “Many are outraged. While we give more space to foreign customs, we deny our own. There are plenty of examples all over Europe.”
“Criticizing has nothing to do with Islamophobia. But we, in Germany, have been renaming Christmas markets as winter markets for years,” he added.
