Construction of Athens Mosque, Now More Likely Than Ever

 (Photo credit: the apostrophe)

Plans to construct a mosque in Athens, that will be paid by Greek tax-payers, apparently got back on track this week after the government announced that a consortium had been chosen to undertake the project. In an announcement, the Ministry of Infrastructure said that it had awarded the 946,000 Euros contract to a consortium comprising the firms J&P Avax, Terna, Aktor and Intrakat.

The Mosque is going to be built on a plot of land that formerly belonged to the Hellenic Navy in the area of Votanikos (central Athens) even though residents in this area have appealed against its construction to the Council of State. The case is expected to be determined by the State at the end of January and if all goes well then construction should begin a little after the new year and completed by next summer.

But residents in the area, and the surrounding areas are not the only ones who have opposed its construction, so has the Greek Orthodox Church, which had initially objected to the building of this mosque with minarets, but it was announced that the specific mosque in Votanikos is not going to have minarets. (This remains to be seen).