Athens, November 6, 2020
Photo: ekathimerini.com
The first mosque in Athens since Greece was liberated from the Ottoman Empire in 1821 opened its doors on Monday, bringing the 14-year process to an end.
“A long effort by successive governments since 2006, when Law 3512 was passed, has been completed. Greece sends a clear message inside and outside the country, of democracy, religious freedom and respect,” said General Secretary of Religions Giorgos Kalantzis, reports Ekathimerini.
The new mosque’s first imam is the Moroccan-born Greek citizen Zaki Mohammed, 49.
Despite the passing of the 2006 law, an agreement to begin construction was reached only in 2016, and the opening was delayed several times since then. It was reported that the mosque was to open in April of last year, and it was planned again this spring, though it was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic, reports euronews.
And in fact, the story began even earlier. The Greek government announced in 2002 that there would be a mosque by the time of the 2004 Olympics, but the plan never came to fruition. The decision to build a mosque in Greece was made again in 2013 and a plot of land was allocated on the territory of the now unused naval base. However, the Orthodox Church and Greek citizens continually protested the project and there will be no minarets, as a concession to the Greek public.
The building of a mosque in Athens “serves as a support to the plan of islamization of the country,” His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus warned in 2015.
The mosque, built on the territory of the former central parking lot of the Greek navy in the Athenian district of Votanikos, can hold up to 350 people, though only 9 are allowed in at a time according to current pandemic restrictions.
A ceremonial opening will be held once the epidemic situation allows.
The possibility of mosques in Greece have been a regular bargaining chip on the part of Turkish President Erdogan in discussions about the possibility of reopening the Orthodox Halki Seminary in Turkey. The seminary could be reopened in exchange for a mosque in Thessaloniki, he said in May 2015, though His Eminence Metropolitan Anthimos of Thessaloniki had previously said he was against the presence of Islam in the city.
