In Cologne, Germany, Muslims are building a gigantic mosque with 170-foot tall minarets, very near to the historic Cologne Cathedral. Many Germans are unhappy about the mosque, which will be one of the largest in Europe, and they should be—it’s a symbol of Islamic domination, and this kind of in-your-face provocation has been seen time and time again, in Western country after Western country: Construction of mosque ignites German hostility.

COLOGNE, Germany — The construction of one of Europe’s biggest mosques near a globally famous Christian landmark has sparked a furious dispute in Germany.

Immigration and integration are extremely sensitive issues in Germany, which is home to a Turkish community of several million.

But almost within the shadow of Cologne Cathedral, political correctness was replaced by bitter confrontation, as the city’s Muslims began building a 2,000-capacity mosque whose twin minarets will reach 170 feet.

“Muslims have been here for 40 years, yet people are praying in back rooms,” said Seyda Can, an Islamic theologian at the Turkish Islamic Union in Cologne. “There are 120,000 Muslims in Cologne, that’s 12 percent of the population. We should not hide.” …

At the Islamic Union, every effort is made to address those fears. “We run German-language courses,” said Ikbal Kilic, a spokesman. “And the design of the mosque features a lot of glass, so people can see in. We want to be open.”

But within the exquisitely carved walls of Cologne Cathedral, those promises are not enough. “We live in a land of religious freedom,” said Prelate Johannes Bastgen, the cathedral’s dean. “But I would be very glad if the same principles existed in Muslim countries.”

UPDATE at 6/25/07 1:40:42 pm:

Here’s a Muslim “scholar,” Dr. Zakir Naik, explaining why Muslims must build mosques in non-Muslim countries while prohibiting churches and temples in Islamic states—because they know the “truth” and infidels do not.

(Hat tip: PDM.)