Rana Taslim Uddin was heard this afternoon in the 3rd and 6th committees of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly (AML), which oversee the areas of Urbanism and Human and Social Rights, respectively, about the possible construction of a new mosque in the Mouraria area, announced over 10 years ago.

During a hearing of almost three hours, the leader of the Bangladeshi community in Lisbon was questioned by municipal deputies on various topics involving this process, namely the availability for the mosque to be built in another area of the city, since there is some opposition.

"We need a mosque where there are people. This is where we practice our religion daily. It was the [Lisbon] City Council that chose this location", said Rana Uddin.

The leader of the Bangladeshi community stressed that the current places of worship in the Mouraria area do not offer safety conditions, given the limited space, and they keep women away from worship, for example.

"We have no space for women. Women currently pray at home or have to go to the Central Mosque (Avenidas Novas)", he pointed out.

Similar to previous hearings on the same topic, the municipal deputies of the PSD, IL, Chega, MPT and CDS-PP questioned the fact that the location planned for the new mosque in Mouraria, on Rua do Benformoso, led to the expropriation of the buildings necessary for the execution of the project, without the agreement of all the affected owners.

This was an issue that divided the right-wing and left-wing parties, with doubts raised about the conclusion or not of a legal process involving one of the opponents of the expropriation.

In this sense, some parties requested the presence at a next meeting of this committee of the councillor responsible for Urbanism at the Lisbon City Council, Joana Almeida.

"We don't want problems. The Lisbon City Council promised to negotiate with the gentleman. This has to be resolved. It is a matter of justice, not with us", argued Rana Taslim Uddin.

Regarding the process of building a mosque in Mouraria, the AML has also heard the president of the Islamic Community of Lisbon (CIL), Mahomed Iqbal, and the president of the Parish Council of Santa Maria Maior, Miguel Coelho.

In October 2015, the Lisbon City Council unanimously approved the construction of a new mosque in Mouraria, between the streets of Palma and Benformoso, a project budgeted at three million euros, to serve the Muslim community, which currently occupies a space in Mouraria [in Beco de São Marçal], but with very limited conditions compared to its needs.

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