Cologne, Germany  - Turks living in Cologne, Germany, are forming an association to restore decency to the Rhein city's carnival, an annual festival of parties and parades with its roots in Christianity.

"We absolutely want to be part of the fun, but we want to adapt it a bit to our own way of life," said Katharina Starke, spokeswoman for the Turkish Carnival Association of Germany, ahead of the group's launch Thursday.

Carnival revellers dress up in outlandish costumes, sing themselves hoarse and often stop work for days on end. Turkish residents of the city join in enthusiastically every year.

However, observant Muslims find the sexual licence and heavy alcohol consumption during carnival unsettling, Starke said.

"It's not as if we want to segregate the sexes, but we think you can celebrate a little more decently," she said, adding that Cologne Muslims did not perceive carnival as inherently Christian.

"In a city like Cologne it's part of our common culture."

Carnival, which is also celebrated in southern Europe, was originally a splurge of eating and drinking in February or March before the annual six-week Christian fasting season of Lent. It is not an official Catholic feast, and clergy have no role in it.

Carnival associations usually hold parties with admission by ticket only and organize groups of dancers or musicians.

The new group said it is planning comedy and song evenings where no alcohol will be served to the audience, and it hopes in later years to contribute marchers or even a float to the Rosenmontag Parade, the annual high point of carnival in Cologne.

Carnival organizers have repeatedly appealed to revellers over the years to ease off alcohol consumption, but largely in vain.

Many couples are reported to also turn a blind eye to sexual escapades by partners in the final week of carnival.

Starke said the Turkish group was being founded with 35 members but expected to grow quickly.

Cologne is the city where riots broke out last year when a far- right group, Pro Cologne, attempted to demonstrate against mosques.

Pro Cologne mocked the Turkish group Wednesday, charging it did not belong and would want to prohibit alcohol at carnival and force women revellers to wear full-body burqa robes, like traditionalist women in Afghanistan.

Starke said her supporters were shocked but unfazed at the reaction.

The organizing committee for the Rosenmontag parade, which oversees carnival schedules, welcomed the start of the new association, saying it was a step toward better integrating the Turkish minority in civic life. (dpa)