From Raw Story
Work is finally set to begin on Athens’ first mosque, 13 years after plans were first announced, the Greek government announced on Thursday.
A Greek consortium has been chosen, the infrastructure ministry said, after five previous attempts to find a business group to lead the project failed.
Athens is one of the few European capitals without a mosque.
The building will have a budget of 946,000 euros ($1.3 million) and will be 600 square metres. It is being built on land formerly used by the military but it will not have a minaret.
The project will have to be completed within six months of contracts being signed, said the ministry.
The scheme has been beset by various delays. It was first announced in 2000, ahead of the Olympics in Athens in 2004.
However, it has long been opposed by the powerful Greek Orthodox Church. Some 90 percent of Greeks consider themselves Christian.
