A Taliban official’s appearance at a mosque in Cologne has been strongly condemned by Germany. Abdul Bari Omar, an official with the Taliban-run health authority in Afghanistan, attended the mosque to speak at a conference organized by an Afghan association in the city. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser demanded explanations from the Turkish organization managing the mosque, Ditib, and stated that offering radicals a platform in Germany is completely unacceptable. Ditib’s management claimed they had no prior knowledge of the Taliban official’s planned appearance and rejected any association with the Taliban. The foreign ministry stated that the Taliban official had not been issued a visa to enter Germany and had apparently entered the country using a Schengen visa issued by a neighboring country. Despite the condemnation, Ditib remains one of the largest Islamic organizations in Germany.