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| Mufti of the Islamic Community of Slovenia Nedzad Grabus addresses the media on February 3, 2020 (AFP Photo/Jure Makovec) |
Ljubljana (AFP) - Slovenia's first mosque opened in the capital Ljubljana on Monday after surmounting financial hurdles and right-wing opposition, 50 years after the initial request to build was made.
Opponents
of the project -- including those who criticised its Qatari financing -- have
repeatedly tried to halt it, and pig heads and blood have also been left on the
site.
Islamic
community head Mufti Nedzad Grabus said the mosque's opening was "a
turning point in our lives".
"Slovenia
is the last former Yugoslav state to get a mosque, making Ljubljana a capital
rather than a provincial town on the edge of the world," he told a press
conference.
Muslims in
the predominantly Catholic Alpine country first filed a request to build a
mosque in the late 1960s while Slovenia was still part of the former Communist
Yugoslavia.
The
community finally received permission 15 years ago, but ran into opposition
from right-wing politicians and groups, as well as financial troubles.
Construction,
which began in 2013, cost some 34 million euros ($39 million), out of which 28
million euros were Qatari donations, according to Grabus.
Situated in
a semi-industrial area of Ljubljana, the mosque, which can hold up to 1,400
people, constitutes the core of the six-building Islamic Cultural Centre.
The centre
also comprises the community's offices; an education centre, which includes a
library; a restaurant; a basketball court; housing for the Muslim clerisy; and
a 40-metre (131 feet) high minaret.
All the
buildings are made from white concrete combined with steel, glass and wood. A
large blue textile-made dome dominates the mosque's interior, referring to
heaven and reminiscent of famous mosques like Istanbul's Blue Mosque.
Aiming to
show openness
"We
wanted to link traditional Islamic architecture values with contemporary
architecture," architect Matej Bevk told AFP adding the centre's glass facades
were meant to show its transparence and openness.
Until now,
Muslims have been worshipping and holding ceremonies in rented sports halls or
buildings.
They make
up 2.5 precent of the country's two million people, constituting the second
biggest religious group, according to the last 2002 census. Grabus estimated
there were around 80,000 Muslims currently.
Opponents
of the project have twice tried to halt it, once in 2004 and again in 2009, by
asking for a referendum. The constitutional court denied the requests both
times.
Critics
claim Qatar is one of the main financiers of terrorism.
Pig heads
and blood were also tossed on the site in two incidents in 2016. Pigs are
considered to be unclean and pork and its by-products forbidden under Islam.
Ljubljana's
long-time mayor Zoran Jankovic has supported the project.
Azra
Lekovic, a Slovenian Muslim in her late 40s, described the mosque as
"crucial", saying her children, 22 and 24, had distanced themselves
from the religion over the years.
"I
hope it will allow my children to get in touch with the Islamic community
again, to meet progressive people and find friends that share their
religion," the entrepreneur from Sezana in western Slovenia told AFP.
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Leaders lay the first stone of what will be the first mosque in Ljubljana,
Slovenia on September 14, 2013 (AFP, Jure Makovec)
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