Iceland: Muslim Associations Asked to Collaborate on Mosque

Iceland: Muslim Associations Asked to Collaborate on Mosque

Via Iceland Review:

Two Muslim societies in Iceland, the Association of Muslims in Iceland and the new Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland, have applied for lots in Reykjavík to build a mosque. City authorities have requested that the mosque be a joint project between the two associations.


“Obviously we won’t be allocating two lots for mosques at this point and we find it natural for them to cooperate on the construction of one mosque,” Páll Hjaltason, chairman of Reykjavík City’s Urban Planning Council, told Fréttabladid.

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The two associations have been in dispute, with Salman Tamimi accusing the Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland of extremism, a claim which the association protested harshly against, visir.is reports.

Salman Tamimi claimed that there are individuals within the Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland who were expelled from the Association of Muslims in Iceland for having violated the association’s regulations on extremism, fanaticism and aggression in the name of religion.

In a declaration, Tamimi’s statement is denied. It says that the individuals in question were not expelled but rather decided to leave the association on their own accords due to “undemocratic work methods.”

The Association of Muslims in Iceland was founded 13 years ago and has 370 members, while the Islamic Cultural Center of Iceland was founded two years ago and has 250 members.

(source)