A place for a mosque had been reserved for at least the past ten years, but problems with funding and specifically with getting the Danish Muslim community to work together, have stalled it.
Construction of Copenhagen's first mosque moved closer to reality Wednesday after the Tabah Foundation, a moderate Muslim group, approved a design by Danish architect to Jan Wenzel to build 'The Grand Mosque of Copenhagen'. The minaret-less mosque, if approved by the city, would likely be built in the city's new Ørestad district. According to the design, the mosque itself will have room for 3000 worshippers, while the entire complex will feature a multi-cultural centre, hotel and student housing. The mosque's DKK 3.2 billion (EUR 427 million) estimated cost will be raised by the Tabah Foundation, the same organisation that hosted last spring's 'Search for Mutual Understanding' conference in which a group of 60 young Danes met with young Muslims in the United Arab Emirates. Wenzel expected that the backing of the group would ensure that funding came from moderate Sunni and Shiite Muslim groups. Prior to Wednesday's presentation in New York, where Wenzel lives and works, the architect said he saw his futuristic, crescent-moon shaped mosque as a way to create understanding. 'The Mohammed cartoon affair underscored Copenhagen's lack of a proper mosque,' he told Politiken newspaper. 'Our design is different so we can break some of the taboos associated with Islam.' The city has already expressed its willingess to build a mosque in Copenhagen. The council has been informed of Tabah's interest, but the foundation said it would only request a meeting with city representatives once it had secured sufficient funding.
Source: Copenhagen Post (English)
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