Netherland’s Largest Mosque Open For Business; Tied To Dutch Muslim Brotherhood

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Dutch media is reporting on the opening of the Rotterdam Essalam Mosque, tied to the Dutch Muslim Brotherhood . According to one report:

The biggest mosque in the Netherlands opens its doors today after over seven years of construction. Rotterdam’s Essalam Mosque will be opened by the city’s mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb and city councillor Hamit Karakus. The mosque has been at the centre of much controversy in recent years. Concerns were expressed that foreign influence on the project was too strong, partly due to the funding provided by Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates. A conflict between the visitors to the mosque and its executive had to be settled in court. The building of the mosque also ground to a lengthy halt and it took the personal intervention of city councillor Hamit Karakus to ensure that construction was finally completed. The striking building, which features two minarets towering above a 25-metre dome, will serve around 2,500 Moroccan Muslims living in the Rotterdam South district.

A previous post discussed the ban imposed on five members of the mosque.

The Essalem mosque is operated by the Dutch branch of the Maktoum Foundation, a charity operated by the ruling family of Dubai which has funded other global Muslim Brotherhood projects in Europe. One of the members of the Foundation board is Nooh Al-Kaddo, the director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Ireland which also houses the European Council for Fatwa and Research, chaired by global Muslim Brotherhood leader Youssef Qaradawi.

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