Greeks Divided On Mosque Construction

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More than half a million Muslims live in the Greek capital, Athens. That's about a tenth of the city's population, and they worship in rented basements and apartments because Athens has no formal mosque. The government is planning to build one using public funds. But with the economy in ruins and anti-immigrant feelings on the rise, polls show Greeks are deeply divided over that plan.

Joanna Kakissis reports from Athens.

JOANNA KAKISSIS: Twelve men wearing prayer caps are washing their hands in a musty basement in central Athens.

(Soundbite of chanting)

KAKISSIS: The ritual washing over, the imam leads them in an evening prayer. He's an immigrant from Bangladesh, like most of the men here. This basement is the closest thing they have to a mosque. A few weeks ago, a neo-Nazi gang locked the door during prayers and tried to set the place on fire.

Mohammad Jahangir(ph) was inside that night.

Mr. MOHAMMAD JAHANGIR: (Through translator) We were very scared. We were trapped, and we thought we were going to die.

KAKISSIS: Far-right gangs have stepped up attacks on Muslims. Greek police now guard some of the makeshift mosques, but the Muslim community worries the hate is spreading.

(Soundbite of conversation)

KAKISSIS: Rabab Hasan runs a phone shop in Athens. She was born in Greece to Egyptian parents and wears a hijab. She says because of this, people yell at her.

Ms. RABAB HASAN: Why you wear it? Take it off. Why you are in my country? Go out.

(Foreign language spoken)

KAKISSIS: Hasan switches to Greek, her first language, and says she considers herself as much of an Athenian as the people yelling at her.

(Soundbite of chanting)

KAKISSIS: Across the street from Hasan's call center, Egyptian men gather at another makeshift mosque. One is Naim Elghandour, president of the Muslim Association of Greece. He has lived here for almost 40 years but says Muslims feel like second-class citizens.

Mr. NAIM ELGHANDOUR (President, Muslim Association of Greece): (Through translator) We're part of Greek society until we go to pray. They go to a church; we go to a basement.

KAKISSIS: Elghandour and other Muslims here say a proper mosque in the capital would send a signal that Muslims are an accepted part of Greek society. Greece has been planning a state-funded mosque for more than four years. The government has found a site in central Athens and is now looking for an architect.

The powerful Greek Orthodox Church has had issues in the past about where the mosque should be located, but Father Gabriel Papanicolaou, the chancellor of the Archdiocese of Athens, says it supports the idea in principle.

Father GABRIEL PAPANICOLAOU (Chancellor, Archdiocese of Athens): When the government approached us and told us that we need to do something like that, we said, of course, we are okay, because we understand that each one has a right to believe and worship in a free place.

KAKISSIS: But recent polls show that Greeks are less enthusiastic. Some are balking at the cost - early estimates put the price tag at about $20 million.

Kyriakos Velopoulos is a member of the Popular Orthodox Rally, a nationalist party.

Mr. KYRIAKOS VELOPOULOS (Member, Popular Orthodox Rally): (Foreign language spoken)

KAKISSIS: He told parliament recently that Greece is broke, and the government should not be asking Greeks to make sacrifices to build a mosque for Muslims.

Evi Hadziandreou, a special adviser at the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs, says the government will keep the costs down.

Ms. EVI HADZIANDREOU (Special Adviser, Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs): It is a human - basic human rights issue to allow the expression of religious beliefs. We're also moving in finding a temporary solution until the mosque would be built.

(Soundbite of conversation)

KAKISSIS: Meanwhile, the Bangladeshis whose prayer space was attacked are renovating another basement. They're hopeful they will have a proper mosque in a couple of years.

But in the meantime, they need a place to pray.

For NPR News, I'm Joanna Kakissis in Athens.

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