Rafal Kiepuszewski
Warsaw's main mosque houses the Muslim Religious Union in Poland
An Islamic cultural center is being built in the Polish capital, Warsaw, next to the city’s new mosque. Its construction initially sparked protests, but now some are hoping it could be a sign of integration for Muslims.
Poland, like many other European countries, is trying to find ways of integrating, or co-existing with, its immigrant population. The country has a growing Muslim community, fed by immigrants from Syria, Iraq and Libya, who are attracted by Poland’s membership of the European Union.
Polish authorities have begun granting permission to construct several mosques in the country. In Warsaw, a project to build a cultural center initially proved controversial, and was opposed by traditional Roman Catholic groups. But others were more supportive. Liberal Christian, Jewish and lay groups expressed solidarity for the rights of Muslims to practice their religion.
The Islamic cultural center being built in Warsaw has been designed to fit in with Polish architectural tradition. Salim Ismail of The Polish Islamic League stressed that care was taken to avoid symbols that Poland’s Roman Catholic majority might find offensive.
