Time counts backwards for the operation of the first official Islamic mosque in Athens, after years of struggle by the Muslim communities of Greece. The government has been involved in a race to complete the next few days the work of redevelopment of the surrounding area, the shaping and equipping of the interior of the mosque, and the process of recruiting Imam. The intention of the government is to function it officially at the beginning of April, and certainly before Easter.
At Maximum’s Palace, there is the thought of giving the proper splendour to the inauguration of the mosque with a great ceremony, to which even the leaders of Islamic states will be invited to attend. This shows that the country’s domestic affair, with the signature of Antonis Samaras, will be exploited by the government to promote the image of the Prime Minister internationally, while at the same time strengthening Greece’s profile, that it fully respects religious rights, constructing and operating a state mosque, as a continuation of the image he has achieved abroad after the Prespa Agreement.
The position of the Muslim communities is that the mosque in Islam is an obligation of the followers and believers rather than the state. They could take advantage of this suggestion without thinking that the mosque was made because Islamic countries were pressing, and not because it was a need to satisfy the religious needs of a large community living in Attica. Read More