Friday, August 7, 2020

Athens Muslims Fear Change May Delay Mosque; Converting Istanbul Museum to Mosque May Hurt

After Turkey turned Istanbul's Hagia Sophia museum into a mosque last month, Muslims in Athens fear their own official place of worship -- delayed for over a decade -- will be held back even longer, the AFP website reports today (August 7, 2020).

The project to open a state-sanctioned mosque in Athens -- the only European capital that does not have one -- was launched in 2007.

But it immediately ran into strong opposition from the powerful Greek Orthodox Church, as well as from nationalist groups.

"I think after this incident [converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque], it might be even more difficult to open the official mosque that we have awaited for ten years," says Imam Atta-ul Naseer, who runs a makeshift mosque in a central Athens apartment.

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