A new mosque in Athens, open for worship

The daily reacts to the inauguration, on June 22nd, of a 'Greek-Arab cultural centre' that will double as a mosque for the Muslim community in Athens. "For several months, they were consulted and they were promised a mosque. But the Muslims of Greece never saw it coming. Determined to pray, even outside unsanitary places in the Greek capital, they, thanks to the help of a Saudi industrialist, have now inaugurated this centre. Its creation allows them to get around the law that prohibits them from building a temple, but also to evade the reluctance of the Church of Greece which has been stalling this project for years. Even though the government, the Muslims and the Church came to agreement on the site, in the Elaiona neighbourhood, in October 2006, the construction never began. But the Muslim community was growing larger and larger. Indeed, it was the crises in Iraq and Lebanon that brought greater numbers of Muslims to Greece, European soil close to their home countries."

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