Athens - Muslims living in Athens voiced their displeasure Monday over a delay in the
construction of a mosque for tens of thousands of Muslims who have been using abandoned factories and converted
coffee shops as makeshift prayer houses for years. The president of the Muslim Union of
Greece said the construction of a state-funded mosque and cemetery in Elaionas near the centre of Athens has been faced with countless delays.
In 2007 the Greek government unveiled a bill for the construction of the mosque, saying it would be built on a large plot of land owned by the Greek Navy.
According to the bill, the new Athens mosque will be run by a non- profit organisation staffed by Greek state officials and members of the capital's Muslim communities. The head imam will be appointed by a government-backed committee and be paid by the ministry.
A previous proposal to build a mosque near Athens' International Airport ahead of the 2004 Olympics was blocked following objections by residents and opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church, which disagreed with the location and plans for funding from Saudi Arabia.
"There are apprxomately 150 illegal mosques operating across the Greek capital and this cannot continue," said Naim Elgantur, President of the Muslim Union of Greece.
"The authorities have told us to send them certain documents which we have sent them twice, and which they claim to have lost."
Athens is the only European capital which does not have a proper mosque or cemetery to serve its more than 300,000 Muslim residents, mainly from various parts of northern Africa and Pakistan.
At present, the only operating mosques in Greece are in the northeastern region of Thrace, home to some 100,000 Muslims.
The largest makeshift mosque currently exists in the Athens district of Moschato. The mosque, based inside a disused
factory measuring 800 square meters, has reportedly been funded by a Saudi Arabian donor.
