(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Children skip across the roof of a mosque and play hide and seek in a Hindu temple: This unsual playground is designed to build tolerance as religious relations are cooling in Denmark.
Volunteers from various faiths in Fredericia helped to create the seaside playground, which opened in August in a town proud of its 18th-century role as a refuge for Europe’s persecuted.
There is a green mosque with a golden dome, a red and white brick village church and a brightly coloured Hindu temple.
“It is fun to see what a mosque looks like and a Hindu temple and to play with children from other religions,” says nine-year-old Caroline as she scrambles among the model buildings.
And the playground is a great way for parents to introduce their children to other religions and cultures, says Hanne Ravn, in her 50s, who lives in a neighbouring village.
“It is important for parents to talk to their children, to teach them to be tolerant and open to others, from a young age,” she says.
Caroline has never been inside a real mosque. And there is little chance she will in Denmark anytime soon, since a project to build the country’s first mosque in Copenhagen has been delayed amid financial problems and rumours that it was being financed by Tehran. Islam is the second largest religion in Denmark, which counts more than 200,000 Muslims among its some 5.5 million inhabitants.
Organisers of the project insist the lack of a synagogue in the playground was not intentional. All faiths were asked to participate, but due to their small number, the Jewish community “did not respond to our invitation,” explains Protestant pastor Karina Dahlmann.
Fredericia mayor Thomas Banke is mindful of the religious disputes behind so many of the world’s conflicts.
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