The Greek Parliament has approved controversial plans to build a new mosque in the capital of Athens to cater for the increasing demands of the Muslim population.
The long running argument regarding the construction of a mosque in Athens, Greece, has ended with Parliamentary approval for the building to go ahead. Until now Greece has remained the only original E.U. member state to not cater for its increasing Muslim population.
The border crossing with Turkey has become a first port of call for many illegal immigrants seeking entry to Europe. The resultant Muslim population has been forced to make alternative arrangements for worship to the mosque they have been demanding.
Despite vehement objections from many who oppose a mosque in the strictly Orthodox country, approval has been granted for a mosque to be built in Elaionas, an industrial district of Athens. However the mosque will be completed without the adornment of minarets.
Greece’s parliament on Wednesday approved the construction of a new mosque in Athens to satisfy a long-standing demand by thousands of Muslim residents, a government source said.
The project to build the Greek capital’s first official Muslim place of worship in decades was supported by 198 deputies from the centre, right and left (out of 300) against the objections of 16 nationalist MPs.
The mosque plan was included in an environment ministry bill regulating illegal construction, another long-running concern in Greece.
It calls for the renovation of an existing state building -- a disused military base -- in the run-down Athens industrial district of Elaionas.
Thousands of Muslims from Arab nations, Africa and the Indian subcontinent live and work in Athens without official prayer sites or a cemetery, despite years of promises by successive Greek governments.
Muslim faithful have crafted mosques out of rented flats and disused warehouses which are regularly targeted in racist attacks.
Anger towards migrants and attacks have escalated on the streets of Athens in recent months as the debt-hit country battles a growing recession that has brought thousands of job layoffs.
A staunchly Orthodox state with bitter memories of nearly four centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule, Greece currently offers sanctioned Muslim religious sites only near its northeastern border with Turkey where a Muslim minority of Turkish origin lives.
All traces of Islam were eradicated in Athens in the early 19th century when Christianity was restored, and bureaucratic wrangling and opposition from local church leaders and mayors have since stalled plans for a mosque and cemetery.
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