Grand mosque given green light to start construction

TIRANA, Nov. 30 – In a symbolic gesture, Prime Minister Edi Rama handed over to the Muslim Community head Skender Brucaj, a government legal license to build the new grand mosque in Tirana.
The community has tried to build a flagship mosque in Tirana for two decades, since after the fall of the communist regime that had banned religions in the country.
After the government official document was issued, it seems that all the obstacles for the construction of Albania’s largest mosque are now over.
The cornerstone for the mosque, which is located near Albania’s parliament building, was put in place in the early 1990s, but building did not continue due to legal and financial obstacles.
Both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox communities have already built two large cathedrals in the same area. It is expected that construction of the mosque will begin within a short time.
It will be a joint project by the Muslim Community in Albania together or supported by Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, which will give the financial support, according to Brucaj.
By 1967 to 1990, the ruling communist party either closed down or destroyed all the churches and mosques in the country, as it was declared an atheist state.
Alongside the mosque, an inter-religious museum will also be built to show what the tiny western Balkan country may really be proud to the world and which it needs to show — religious tolerance.
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. The building of the mosque in capital Tirana has also long been an issue contested by the political parties opposing each other. It was no different this time.
The Opposition Democratic Party of Lulzim Basha, who also serves as Tirana mayor, said Rama’s move was political show and that the government forgot to say the mosque cannot be built without a court decision to clarify the land ownership. A family claiming part of the mosque land has taken the case to the court.
Some Albanian intellectuals have expressed concerns over the architecture chosen for the new mosque, which resembles a large Ottoman-style building, when more Albanian or European models are increasingly available.