DDHK News, Cuba - Muslims in Cuba will soon have their first mosque. The Cuban government approved a mosque construction plan with financial assistance from the Turkish government. The agreement was made after a visit by a delegation from a Turkish Foundation for the Caribbean islands last week.
"We thought the mosque would fit perfectly in the historic district of Havana with typical European architecture," said Yuksel Sezgin, adviser to TDV (Türk Dkticaret Vakf?), A branch of a religious organization run by the government, Friday (25/4).
The mosque was later designed to resemble the famous Ortakoy Mosque in Istanbul Turkey. It is hoped that this mosque will be able to serve 500 worshipers in the city of Havana. There are an estimated 3.500 Muslims in the city of Havana.
It is estimated that the construction of the mosque will be completed in one year.
With no mosque currently available, most Cuban Muslims pray in their homes. On Fridays, they pray at the home of Pedro Lazo Torre, leader of the Havana Muslim community.
Luis Mesa Delmonte, a Cuban professor who works on Middle East studies at El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City, said President Raul Castro's government approved the mosque project as part of a broader effort for Cuba to loosen the communist system. (mel / onislam.net / localhost / project / personal / ddhongkong.org / ddhongkong.org). *
