The first imam of the Athens Mosque, which opened yesterday, 49-year-old Sunni Mohamed Zaki, who came from Morocco about 25 years ago as an economic immigrant, expressed his wishes for world peace through protothema.gr.
“I would like to say a big thank you to the Greeks and to Greece and I would like to wish the whole world peace,” he told the news platform.
Mohamed Zaki is a Greek citizen, speaks fluent Arabic and French, is married, and has a degree in Physics and Mathematics and special studies in Muslim Theology. Based on the information, the first Imam of Athens reportedly enjoys the approval of a large portion of Arabs.
Mohamed Zaki was elected as the most suitable candidate to serve as the Imam, after the Board of the Islamic Mosque of Athens, as prescribed by the law, announced the position of the imam, and evaluated all candidacies.
The mosque can currently accommodate 9 people in the five prayers that will be performed, as due to the coronavirus pandemic there is a limit to the number of people to avoid overcrowding. For this reason, the Board of Directors of the Islamic Mosque of Athens noted the official inauguration will take place when this “becomes possible in accordance with the developments for the fight against the pandemic”.
The sermon will be delivered only in Greek or by concession in English, while the prayer will always be done in Arabic. With the official opening of the mosque at Votanikos, Greek authorities are trying to put an order to the chaotic situation with multiple illegal underground impromptu ‘house-mosques’ that have sprung up across the Attica basin.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Jubair1985
