Grand Mosque of Bucharest

The Grand Mosque of Bucharest (Romanian: Marea Moschee din București) was a proposed mosque to be built in Bucharest, Romania, using funds provided by Turkey and land gifted by the Romanian Government.

The building of the mosque was negotiated with the Turkish Government by Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta in 2015 and discussions continued under Romanian President Klaus Iohannis. In 2018, the project was abandoned due to the lack of funds.

Negotiations with Turkey

The discussions between Romania and Turkey about the construction of a mosque in Bucharest were stalled for 14 years because the Romanian Government demanded that the Romanian Orthodox Church also be allowed to build a church in Istanbul, something which the Turkish Government refused.[1]

In 2015, Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta signed a deal which allowed the Turkish Government to build the mosque in Bucharest without getting the right for the Romanian Orthodox Church to build a church in return.[1] The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, only agreed for the Romanian side to build a chapel and a pilgrim center for Romanian believers.[2]

During the visit of Klaus Iohannis, the Romanian President, in Turkey in March 2016, the president of Turkey asked Iohannis to help the Muftiate obtain authorization for the construction of a mosque from the General Council of Bucharest.[3]

Building

The Turkish Government was expected to give 3 million € for the building of the mosque, while the Romanian Government provided 11,000 m2 of land near Romexpo, in the northern part of Bucharest, priced at 4 million €. The mosque was supposed to have a capacity for 2,000 persons and to also include a Madrassa and a library.[3]

Opposition

There was certain opposition to the project in Bucharest.[2] In fact, former Romanian President Traian Băsescu argued that Romania doesn't need "an accelerated Islamization process" and that the Muslims of Dobruja already have the mosques they need.[4]

All of the major candidates to the office of Mayor of Bucharest (including Gabriela Firea of the PSD, Ludovic Orban from the PNL and the independent politician Nicușor Dan) either voiced opposition to the construction or demanded a local referendum.[3]

Abandonement

In July 2018, it was announced that the project had been abandoned due to a lack of funds. The land was given back to the government.[5]

See also

References
  1. "Ponta, despre moscheea de la București: Pun în aplicare o înțelegere între statul român și statul turc". Mediafax. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  2. "Reacția președintelui Turciei la opoziția românilor care nu vor o moschee la București". Gandul.info (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  3. "Cum ar putea fi construita la Bucuresti cea mai mare moschee din Europa. Propunerea controversata a candidatilor la primarie". ProTV. Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  4. "Băsescu nu vrea moschee la București și-l trimite pe Iohannis să se facă muftiu la Sibiu. "România trebuie să rămână creștină"". Gândul (in Romanian). Retrieved 30 March 2016.
  5. Asociația musulmanilor a renunțat la proiectul Marii moschei din București, Mediafax, 20 July 2018
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