ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS // For this port city's Muslim inhabitants, the towering Essalam mosque stands as a unique source of pride.
The new landmark, funded by the Al Maktoum Foundation at the expense of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, has been 11 years in the making, but now rests as a bridge between the Muslim community and the rest of the city.
Almost from the beginning, the mosque, meant to hold 2,600 worshippers, faced resistance from growing anti-immigrant and anti-Islam groups in The Netherlands. After the government called for the construction of several mosques for the city's sizeable Muslim community and having issued a permit in 1999, a new more right-leaning city council held up construction from 2000 to 2003.
Once work was started in 2004, the project was delayed by conflicts with the builders and issues within the Moroccan community.
The building stands in a heavily immigrant neighbourhood in the south of Rotterdam, down the road from the stadium of the city's famed football club, Fijenoord. Its proximity to the field led some opponents to complain that the mosque's two 50-metre minarets rivalled the stadium's light masts as a symbol of what the city is supposed to stand for.
The right-wing firebrand Geert Wilders and his party remained opposed to the mosque until the very end, voicing his dismay via Twitter on the day of its opening: "That horrible thing does not belong here but in Saudi Arabia."
But, last week, as an assortment of luminaries and guests gathered to open the mosque's doors, the challenges were put to rest.
There are still finishing touches to be made to the three-storey complex. Once it is complete, the mosque will be the largest mosque in The Netherlands, and one of the largest in Europe.
Already, it is a point of interest for many here. Pushing a pram through the snow outside the mosque, a young veiled woman sang the building's praises.
"I was so curious, I had to come and see it," she said. "It's wonderful because the old place got so crowded on holidays. Here we finally have room."
Even though the mosque was primarily meant for the Moroccan community, a Turkish patron of a nearby cafe said that he might frequent it.
"In Rotterdam there should be room for the mosque and for the cafe," he said.
The mosque's opening was given a festive character with the attendance of, among others, the city's Moroccan-born mayor, Ahmed Aboutaleb, a Muslim of Turkish origin, and the UAE's ambassador to The Netherlands, Ali Thani Alsuwaidi.
"It was organised quickly. We hope that for the big party next year, Sheikh Hamdan will be able to come," Abdelrazak Boutaher, the vice chairman of the mosque's board, said of the mosque's opening.
Hamit Karakus, the city alderman for planning who had nudged the project along, was relieved by the opening of the mosque and expressed hope that it could soon start fulfilling a healing role in the city. "Now the burden of proof is on the mosque, to convince all those who were against it, and the population in general, that it can play a positive role, to build bridges which is what the Maktoum Foundation stands for," he said.
Many non-Muslim Dutch residents of the neighbourhood are positive about the building. One woman said: "It is beautiful and to me it does not matter whether it's a mosque or a church."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
