Stockholm: God's House with church and mosque

Stockholm: God's House with church and mosque

In three years the church in Fisksätra (Nacka) outside Stockholm might be extended with a mosque.  That is, if the unique project to create a 'God's House' will become reality.

Vicar  Carl Dahlbäck of the Nacka community parish says that they had prepared in various ways for the past half year, and most reactions are positive.  Then there are also critical voices, both from within and from without in the various organization.

According to the parish in the Stockholm suburb of Fisksätra, a strong trust has grown between people of different cultures and religious backgrounds.  The ambition behind the three year inter-religious project 'God's House' is to bring together the three biggest religious communities in the area under one roof. The Church of Sweden and the Catholics will share appropriate premises for service in the rebuilt parish.  A mosque would then be built on the parish's land.  Counseling and support center Källan would also be housed on the premises.  Everybody would be able to meet in a common square.

Dahlbäck says that they're doing this in order to have an ideological and practical collaboration which has a symbolic meaning in Fisksätra.   They believe that what they're doing will show that they have something in common in society and the religions, and that this is their goal.

The project is not only about finding solutions for economizing, but also to communicate the ideas of cooperation, aiming to be peace-establishing and to combat alienation and cultural clashes.

Dahlbäck sys that they already conducted talks together and they have Christian-Muslim services together.  It's not something new for them and it will develop at its own pace.

The God's House project is supported by the Nacka parish, the Muslim Association in Nacka, St. Conrad Catholic association and the Stockholm City Mission.

Source: Kyrkans Tidning (Swedish), h/t Muslimska Friskolan

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