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Bucharest Mosque to be built, Presidential Administration sources say
A mosque will be built in Bucharest, as it offers several guarantees for security, sources within the Presidential Administration state."We do not reject the idea of a mosque in Bucharest because it offers several security guarantees. (...) The timing is bad due to the context regarding immigrants and terrorism," the sources stated.
The Romanian Orthodox Church (BOR) is not opposing to the construction a mosque in Bucharest, Romanian Patriarchate spokesperson Vasile Banescu declared on Thursday, without explicitly naming this Muslim project.
"The Church is witnessing a dialogue between two states, Romania and Turkey, as it is not a decision-maker in this matter. The Church has voiced a point of view when initially asked, and it keeps this viewpoint: the Orthodox Church does not oppose to building a place of worship of a religious cult recognized by the Romanian state," Banescu told AGERPRES.
He recalled that "the matter was mirrored by the idea of erecting a facility for the Romanian pilgrims to Istanbul."
"Thousands of pilgrims go annually through the old Constantinople - now Istanbul - and there had been a discussion from this perspective, when this idea was advanced. At any rate, there's no claim of building a church in Istanbul, since a Romanian church already exists there," said Banescu.
The mosque in Bucharest will be erected; it offers several security guarantees, sources with the Presidential Administration stated. During his visit to Turkey last week, President Klaus Iohannis discussed again this project, first mentioned by former prime minister Victor Ponta in 2015. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised Turkey's full support to the Bucharest mosque.
Accordingly, in 2004, then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked his Romanian counterpart Adrian Nastase to allot a land where to build a mosque. Nastase agreed, and asked in return for a piece of land where to build a church in Istanbul, the above-mentioned sources state. "The Romanian Orthodox Church did not welcome the idea of having a Romanian church in Istanbul and advanced the idea of erecting a smaller edifice, such as a chapel or a pilgrimage center," the sources say.
Subsequently, the Turkish authorities gave permission for a church to be built and identified six plots of land outside of the center of Istanbul where to erect it, but the Romanian authorities have not yet choose the site.
The above-mentioned sources mentioned the fact that, in 2011, former Romanian President Traian Basescu met with Erdogan and gave the green light for the mosque to be built in Bucharest, and in 2015, the former government, led by Victor Ponta, adopted the decision allocating a plot of land near the Romexpo exhibition venue, for the mosque to be built on. "Basescu knew very well what taking a commitment on behalf of the state entails," the Presidential Sources state.
Recently, on March 23, on the occasion of President Klaus Iohannis' visit to Turkey, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that erecting a mosque in Bucharest would be "the most beautiful expression of the dialogue and solidarity between the two countries."
"Critical voices can be heard in every country. (...) Right now, our colleagues are working to obtain the permits. We have a completed project, but currently we want to develop it," Erdogan said.
In his turn, President Klaus Iohannis confirmed that the documentation for obtaining the necessary permits was in the works. "They have reached the stage of requesting the building permits. This matter is incumbent on the city hall," Iohannis said.