Athens’ first mosque in nearly 200 years opens for Friday prayers – By Reuters (CNN) / Nov 7 2020
(CNN)After years of delays caused by red tape, cutbacks and opposition from religious and political factions, the first government-funded mosque in Athens since 1833 opened its doors to worshipers on Friday.
Hundreds of thousands of Muslims from countries including Pakistan, Syria, Afghanistan and Bangladesh live in Athens but the city has not had a formal mosque since it forced occupying Ottomans to leave nearly 200 years ago.
Plans to build a mosque in Athens began in 1890 but it took decades for them to materialize due to opposition from a predominantly Christian Orthodox population and nationalists, sluggish bureaucracy but most recently a decade-long financial crisis.
Amid a coronavirus outbreak, only a limited number of worshipers, wearing masks and sitting at a distance from each other due to Covid-19 restrictions, attended prayers.
Continue > https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/07/europe/athens-mosque-greece-islam-intl/index.html
