Turkey: Erdoğan to visit Tirana tomorrow – Will attend the inauguration of a new Mosque

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will visit Tirana tomorrow, Thursday, October 10th, where he will participate in the inauguration of the new Namazgja (Namazgah in Turkish) Mosque in the Albanian capital.

The mosque, whose construction began in 2015, is considered the largest in the Balkans, featuring four minarets, each 35 meters tall, with an architectural style reminiscent of the Ottoman era. Surrounding the mosque will be facilities functioning as a cultural center, library, exhibition space, conference hall, “museum of coexistence,” and a school for learning the Quran.

The Albanian Muslim Community issued a statement expressing gratitude to the “brotherly Turkish people,” President Erdoğan, and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama for making the construction of the new grand mosque in Tirana possible.

Gazmend Teki̇a, the Mufti of Tirana, has been appointed as chairman of the Board of Directors of the joint foundation between the Muslim Community and the Turkish side, which will manage the new mosque.

The Turkish president is also expected to meet in Tirana with the religious leader of the Bektashi Muslim sect in Albania and globally, Edmond Brahimaj, also known to followers as Baba Mondi. Last month, a New York Times report revealed Prime Minister Edi Rama’s plan to establish a sovereign Bektashi Muslim state within Albanian territory, modeled after the Vatican, which sparked a reaction from representatives of the large Bektashi community in Turkey.

While Erdoğan’s official agenda in Tirana has not been announced, sources indicate that he is expected to co-chair the scheduled intergovernmental conference with the Albanian Prime Minister and will be received by the Albanian President, Bajram Begaj.

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