Shortage of mosques in Spain
Regional-Spain, Religion, 3/18/2008

Shortage of mosques in Spain is eye-catching though Spain is considered as one of the major cradle of Islam for centuries.

The Muslim community of Spain has not developed mosque construction in parallel with urban development in the country.

The number of the mosques, however, has failed to keep up with the growing Muslim population in Spain.

As prayer time approached on a chilly Friday afternoon and men drifted toward the mosque on North Street, Hocine Kouitene hauled open its huge, rolling steel doors.

As places of worship go, the crudely converted garage leaves much to be desired, said Kouitene, vice president of the Islamic Association for Union and Cooperation in Lleida, a prosperous medieval town in northeastern Spain surrounded by fruit farms that are a magnet for immigrant workers.

Freezing in winter and stifling in summer, the prayer hall is so cramped that the congregation, swollen to 1,000 from 50 over the past five years, sometimes spills into the street.

"It's just not the same to pray in a garage as it is to pray in a proper mosque," said Kouitene, an imposing Algerian in a long, black coat and white head scarf.

"We want a place where we can pray comfortably, without bothering anybody." Although Spain is peppered with the remnants of ancient mosques, most Muslims gather in dingy apartments, warehouses and garages like the one on North Street that are pressed into service as prayer halls to accommodate a ballooning population.

The mosque shortage stems partly from the lack of resources common to any relatively poor, rapidly growing immigrant group.

But in several places, the Muslims are trying to build mosques to prepare appropriate places for prayers and their rituals.

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