Erdogan inaugurates the Namazgja Mosque/ Former head of KMSH: Ugly act

2024-10-10 12:05:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Namazgja Mosque is expected to be inaugurated in Tirana with the presence of the Turkish President Rexhep Tahip Erdogan and Prime Minister Edi Rama. The Muslim community of Albania will be represented at the ceremony by the Mufti of Tirana. The former president of the Muslim Community, Skënder Bruçaj, says for the Voice of America that in the case of the Namazgja Mosque, there has been a wild political intervention by external factors.

Mr. Bruçaj criticized the absence of the head of the Albanian Muslim Community at the inauguration of the Namazgja Mosque. On the other hand, the vice president of KMSH, Taulant Bica, says for the Voice of America, that the inauguration of the Mosque is more important than the presence of the holders according to rank.

Former mayor Bruçaj says that the Namazgja Mosque was not built with public funds of the Turkish state, but was built with the voluntary contributions of Turkish Muslim believers.

"KMSH then had the opportunity to build the mosque with other donors from other countries, but Turkey was chosen knowing that over the years revenues have been collected from Turkish Muslims for the construction of the Namazgja Mosque and because of a protocol signed with Turkey by the late former president Haxhi Selim Muça and then by me, Skënder Bruçaj, on a contract with Dianet, the Muslim Community of Turkey," he said.

Erdogan inaugurates the Namazgja Mosque/ Former head of KMSH: Ugly act

Skender Brucaj

KMSH announced that at the inauguration ceremony of the Namasgja Mosque "The Muslim Community of Albania will be represented by the Mufti of Tirana, Mr. Gazment Teqja, who will also be the head of the board of the joint foundation, between KMSH and the other party, which will administer the Namazgja Mosque in the future".

But in the comments for the Voice of America, the former president of KMSH Skënder Bruçaj criticized the absence of the president of KMSH, Bujar Spahiu, in this ceremony alongside Turkish President Erdogan and Albanian Prime Minister Rama.

"At the opening of the Namazgja Mosque, I see the absence of the president of the Muslim Community of Albania as an ugly act, but since the procedures or the organization of the ceremony the next day I see it as a political organization, then it is better that he not it is there", said Mr. Bruçaj.

While the vice-chairman of KMSH, Taulant Bica, tells Voice of America that KMSH is usually represented by the chairman, but in cases of such events, according to the situation, he judges that he should be represented by other officials, and tomorrow he has chosen to be represented by the Mufti of Tirana .

The vice president of KMSH, Taulant Bica

"It is important for us to inaugurate this mosque and it is secondary then the rest because it is not the title number 1, it is the double or the triple. This is of little importance. The important thing is that we have shown our will for this mosque to be acquired by the believers as soon as possible and the rest is something formal and something that in the talks we have reached this conclusion", said Mr. Bica.

On the other hand, the former chairman of the KMSH, Skënder Bruçaj, remembers that he once participated in the ceremony of starting the construction of the Namazgja Mosque years ago, and calls it absurd that now even he does not have an invitation to the inauguration ceremony, while today KMSH is represented by the Mufti of Tirana, after 7 years, when this building is ready.

More than a religious and spiritual organization, he sees tomorrow's ceremony as a political organization due to the involvement of political actors in this matter.

"The cult object is a spiritual object. When political goals are introduced, when other approaches are introduced, then it loses the essence of existence as a cult object. I am very sorry now that I see a wild intervention of politics, above all of external factors, in a very internal and natural matter, which belongs to the KMSH and the Muslim believers of Albania", said Mr. Bruçaj.

Another sensitive topic regarding the Namazgja Mosque is its administration through a foundation, where the leader will be the Mufti of Tirana, while the board members will be from the building side, Turkish citizens, and from the Albanian side.

Erdogan inaugurates the Namazgja Mosque/ Former head of KMSH: Ugly act

The vice president of KMSH Bica says that the Community in Albania has other similar experiences of cooperation, where the donor asks to participate in further management through foundations, such as the case of Bedër University and some madrasahs, and it is a cooperation of welcome.

"Since the Namazgja Mosque is very large, the largest in the Balkans, (with nearly 5,000 seats inside and as many outside), and there are many sections and activities within it, cultural center, conference rooms, etc., it will needs many employees and management, the Muslim Community, just as it has chosen to cooperate with different foundations for concrete cases with the University and madrasahs, in this case too, it has thought to establish a foundation and co-manage this organization. It is not something new, but a known practice", said Mr. Bica.

But Mr. Bruçaj emphasizes that years ago it was agreed that after the Namazgja Mosque was built, the keys of the Mosque would be handed over to the KMSH. He added that the donor usually helps to build the cult object, but is not involved in the management of the mosque, nor how to become part of its direction.

Skender Brucaj

"The fact that the Mosque will apparently not be 100 percent under the authority of the KMSH, raises doubts about its management. The fact that a foreign factor, a state power, it doesn't matter who it is, becomes part of the largest Mosque that Albania has historically had, Mr. Bruçaj said.

He emphasized that this is an interference with regard to constitutional rights, which are related to the secularity of the state. According to him, since the establishment of KMSH 100 years ago, for someone to be a legitimate imam in one of the mosques of Albania, he must be an Albanian citizen with an appointment from the leadership of the Muslim Community of Albania, where the chairman is a person of elected, not as the head of the Muslim Community of Turkey, who is appointed by the Turkish state; which are very different.

"There is talk of a foundation, but there is still nothing in the light: it is not known who the members of the foundation are, what rights the foundation will have, is this foundation likely to oppose the KMSH and create a parallel community , the way it will communicate with other institutions? This complicates the matter and loses the essence of the object of worship, as a mosque should be, where believers can find peace of mind and pray", said Mr. Bruçaj.

The mention of the Feto organization in the communications between the authorities of Albania and Turkey seems to be used, according to Mr. Bruçaj, to bring disunity in the Muslim Community of Albania, through negative labeling of a group, aiming to take control of the situation.

MCA

"All KMSH employees are native Albanian citizens, who have not passed through the Turkish state for years, nor do they oppose Turkey's policies, but they are good believers who contribute to their country. Labeling that KMSH does not represent the believers of Albania is also an act that is done to Albania and the Muslim Community does not deserve to be treated in this way, because it has contributed to the consolidation of many values ??of Albania over the years", said Mr. Bruçaj.

The news about the Namazgja Mosque included an individual from Turkey, who announced through social networks that he had been appointed to work at the new Namazgja Mosque in Tirana, an announcement that was later deleted.

Mr. Bruçaj described as shocking the news through social networks that a Turkish imam was appointed by the Muslim Community of Turkey as one of the leaders of the Namazgja Mosque, from a foreign country, that is, in an Albanian mosque of a sovereign state.

But the vice-president of KMSH Bica called him a self-declared person, while adding that any appointment pertaining to the Mosque will be made by the Foundation's board./ VOA