Fulda, Germany - Entering a growing controversy, Germany's Catholic bishops affirmed Friday the right of Muslims to build "dignified" mosques in German cities.

But in compromise wording that reflected differences among the bishops who met this week, they added that they disapproved of mosques "being abused as expressions of power hunger, rivalry or aggressive interaction."

In the western city of Cologne, there has been widespread opposition to a project to build a mosque near a main street with two 55-metre-high minarets.

A far-right group vainly tried to hold an anti-mosque rally in Cologne on Saturday, but were blocked by police amid fears of a street battle. The fault line in the debate has however crossed the political spectrum.

Centrists and even some leading liberals also condemned the Cologne mosque project as "too assertive," while labour and leftist groups generally backed the Muslim minority.

An estimated 3.3 million people of Muslim background live in Germany, 1.8 million of them Turks.

The Catholic statement was issued in the central city of Fulda, the venue for the meeting of the bishops, who lead 26 million Germans. The text said mosque builders should try to meet "justifiable concerns" of neighbours. (dpa)