The mosque is to have a large dome and twin minarets 180 feet tall, the British newspaper The Telegraph reported. That is about one-third the height of towers of Cologne Cathedral, the building that has dominated the city skyline for centuries.

Much of the opposition came from the far right. There were some claims that the Turkish-Islamic Union, the mosque's sponsor, agreed to reduce the size of the minarets to get approval, but a member of the architectural firm involved denied that.

"We are here for all Cologne -- not only for Muslims," said Sadi Arslan, from the Turkish-Islamic Union. "This mosque will be a symbol of fearless, trusting and peaceful co-existence, a place of communication."

Muslims in Cologne have been worshiping in an old factory building. The new mosque is to go on that site.