Greece builds first mosque in Athens

Muslims in Athens while inaugurating the first Mosque

 The first Mosque in the Greek capital, Athens, has opened after 14 years of insistence by the country's Muslim community, and bureaucratic delays by the state.

The inaugural prayers of the mosque were held under the measures of physical distance due to the increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in Greece, as in most of Europe. Only a small number of people were able to attend.

The first imam of the mosque is Zaki Mohammed, 49, a Greek citizen of Moroccan origin. The opening of the mosque "sends a clear message of democracy, religious freedom and respect," said Government Secretary for Religious Affairs Giorgos Kalantzis.

Opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church has delayed the mosque's opening since 1979. It took years even after the government approved in 2006 to build a Mosque with a budget of $ 1.04 million. However, the process continued to be held back by bureaucratic hurdles, protests by far-right groups, and legal challenges.