Source: Daily Times

Wire Service: Reuters

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C06%5C02%5Cstory_2-6-2006_pg7_34

On June 2, 2006 Reuters reported, "Immigrant and human rights groups on Thursday welcomed a Greek parliament decision that paves the way for building the first mosque in the predominantly Orthodox Christian country since the 19th century.

The head of the Pakistani community in Greece said work on securing a license to build a new mosque would start soon after the assembly effectively revoked a veto power held by the Church of Greece over construction of non-Orthodox places of worship. 'This is wonderful news for about 50,000 Pakistanis in Greece and it is a great step forward for exercising our religious rights,' said Pakistani Community President Javied Aslmam. 'We will immediately start procedures to get all the necessary licences to start building a very large mosque,' he said. The parliament late on Tuesday approved several amendments to an existing law, allowing non-Orthodox religious groups to build their places of worship without having first to get approval from the Church of Greece... Continuing objections from the Orthodox Church and the public regarding the location of a proposed mosque had blocked plans for years. The government has earmarked a site near the city centre for building the mosque, Education and Religious Affairs Minister Marietta Giannakou said."