Head of Muslim community in Romania retorts to Basescu’s statement on Bucharest mosque, Muslim students

The head of the Muslim Community of Romania Mufti Muurat Yusuf (photo) says he is stunned by former President Traian Basescu’s recent statements according to which the potential construction in Bucharest of the largest mosque in Europe and of a Muslim University poses a risk to national security.

Former President Traian Basescu had stated on Sunday that the idea of building in Bucharest the largest mosque in Europe and a Muslim University for 6,000 students represents a risk to national security and that in his opinion, this is a situation for the country’s Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) to analyze.

“These are attempts to divide the public opinion by a political conflict with religious tendencies. They said that after the mosque in downtown Bucharest is completed, 6,000 Muslim students would come to Romania, which will become a Balkan center of Islam. I assure you that there will never be in Romania a Muslim theological university and, on top of that, there are not 6,000 Muslim theology students in Bulgaria, Bosnia and Macedonia altogether! (…) Former President Basescu should not involve the Muslim community in a political conflict with a religious pretext!” Mufti Yusuf declared in a press conference in Constanta on Monday.

The Muslim leader considers that Basescu’s statements risk to divide the Romanian society on religious criteria, to start false topics of debate, and possibly an unprecedented “witch-hunt.”

“(…) Let me remind him that during two official visits he paid to Turkey in 2011 and 2014, when I accompanied him, he and his counterpart agreed to allot land in Bucharest for the building of this mosque and of a Muslim cemetery. Conversely, the Turkish President committed to making available in Istanbul the necessary land plots for building a Romanian Christian church and a cemetery for the Romanian community in the Turkish metropolis,” said the Mufti.

From the ruling party’s side, interim president of the ruling Social Democratic Party (PSD) Rovana Plumb said on Monday that the Government had not discussed plans to have a mosque built in Bucharest.

Asked by journalists if she knew anything about the Government having allegedly issued the approval for the construction of a mosque in the capital city, Plumb replied: “There have been no such talks.”

Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah has recently reported that under an arrangement between Turkish and Romanian authorities, Turkey will build a large mosque in Bucharest, which is due for completion in three years’ time, and in exchange, Turkey will allocate a land plot for Romania to erect a church in Istanbul.