TIRANA DREAM MOSQUE COMES TRUE

Tirana, 10 Shafar 1436/3 December 2014 (MINA) – Construction in the long awaited mosque in Tirana is set to start in the Albanian capital after officials gave the building permit, fulfilling a 1990s dream.

“This is a joint project undertaken in cooperation with Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate,” Skender Brucaj, the head of the Albanian Muslim Community, told Anadolu Agency on Monday, December 1.

The new mosque, awaited since the 1990s, got the go ahead after the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, handed Brucaj the permit for the building last week, On Islam.net quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting.

According to Brucaj, Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate will supply the financial support necessary for the building.

Plans for the new mosque, to be located near Albania’s parliament building, were announced early in the 1990s.

Nevertheless, building did not continue due to legal and financial obstacles.

The large mosque in the Muslim-majority country will finally be built, after the Roman Catholic and Orthodox communities constructed their churches in previous years.

According to the BBC, some 60% of Albanians are Muslim, while Roman Catholics account for about 10%. The country also has an Orthodox Christian population of just below 10%.

Albania is often regarded as a role model to the world for inter-religious coexistence, as Muslims, Catholics and Orthodox Christians have lived in peace for centuries in the country.

In a county with a majority of Muslim population, there is huge demand for this mosque.

The shortage in mosques occurred due to the ban imposed by the ruling communist party from 1967 to 1990 on religion, during which mosques and churches were either closed down or destroyed.

Handing over the permit for the mosque, Prime Minister Edi Rama said that nearby the new mosque, an inter-religious museum will be built. (T/P006/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)