IMO News
Service
Ljubljana, Slovenia:
The first mosque in Slovenia’s
capital Ljubljana
recently opened after 50 years when the request for its construction was
initially made. The construction faced right-wing opposition and financial
hurdles, Arab News reported.
Islamic
community head Mufti Nedzad Grabus has expressed happiness at the mosque’s
opening saying that it was “a turning point in our lives.”
Slovenia has now become the last former
Yugoslav state to get a mosque. The request for building a mosque was first filed
by the Muslims in the predominantly Catholic Alpine country in the late 1960s
when Slovenia
was still a part of the former Communist Yugoslavia.
The
permission was finally given by the Slovenia government 15 years ago.
The construction of the mosque could only begin in 2013, and completed at a
cost of 34 million euros, with a major portion of donation from Qatar (28
million euros).
The mosque
is a part of the Islamic Cultural Center, and can accommodate up to 1,400
worshippers at a time. The mosque’s dome is similar to that of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque.
The Islamic
Cultural Centre is also comprised of offices, an education centre, a library, a
restaurant, a basketball court, and housing for the Muslim clerisy.
Muslims in Slovenia, who make up 2.5 precent
of the country’s two million people, had so far been worshipping and holding
ceremonies in rented buildings or halls. Muslims also constitute the second
biggest religious group in the country, and their population is currently
estimated at around 80,000.