By Davut Colak
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AA) – Construction of a Danish mosque which was backed by a local bishop and mayor could be concluded in early 2018, despite protests and stunts from anti-Islam campaigners.
Roskilde — a city 30 kilometers (18 miles) west of Copenhagen and home to nearly 50,000 people — will be the site of the country’s newest place of worship for the Muslim community, Tuncay Yilmaz, head of the mosque’s non-profit association, told Anadolu Agency on Wednesday.
Yilmaz said its construction, which began in February 2016 with the participation of Roskilde Mayor Joy Mogensen and Bishop Peter Fischer-Moller, would end in February next year.
The nearly-1,000 capacity mosque – to be named Hagia Sophia — became the focus of some stunts by some right-wing activists.
Stating that its construction plan had been approved by the municipal council, Yilmaz said the protestors claimed that adhan — the Islamic call to prayer — could be broadcast from the mosque’s minarets in future.
“But we have no such idea, ” Yilmaz said.
Local bylaws do not allow adhan to be broadcast from minarets.
Some protesters belonging to anti-Islamic organizations — such as Stop Islamisation of Denmark, founded in 2005 — later targeted Roskilde’s mayor and bishop.
Activists played a loud recording of the adhan in front of Mogensen and Moller's residences in the early hours in July. A service being conducted by the bishop in a local cathedral was also disrupted by a similar protest in August.
