Islamic architecture

Dubai said on Monday that it had started building what would be the world’s tallest tower, another record for the city that is already home to the highest skyscraper – the Burj Khalifa.The Tower at Dubai Creek Harbour – a joint venture between Emaar Properties and Dubai Holding, the investment vehicle of the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum – will be completed in 2020, Dub

The Ottoman-era’s Fethiye Mosque that is located in the middle of the Roman Agora in central Athens will open to tourists and visitors by November at the latest, after going through extensive restoration, according to the Athens Ephorate of Antiquities.

Artist and Athens School of Fine Arts Professor Marios Spiliopoulos was faced with something of a quandary when approached to hold an exhibition at the Mosque of the Janissaries (Yiali Tzami) in Hania, Crete. How, he thought, could he create a show that was not overwhelmed by the historical importance of the site of worship?

The Foreign Ministry in Athens has protested a decision by Turkish authorities to allow a daily reading from the Quran to be broadcast from Hagia Sophia in Istanbul during the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

In a statement Tuesday, the ministry condemned the decision, describing it as "verging on bigotry" and "not compatible with modern, democratic and secular societies."

Excavations in the northwestern province of Edirne have unearthed a waterway that the famous Ottoman architect Sinan constructed to ensure access to clean water for the former imperial capital.

Clean water that came to an inn near one of the architect's masterpieces, Selimiye Mosque, was distributed to other mosques and neighborhoods through a water tank in the square.  

A senior figure in one of Germany's governing parties is calling for an "Islam law" that would prevent foreign financing of mosques in the country.
     
Andreas Scheuer, the Christian Social Union's general secretary, argued in an interview with the daily Die Welt published on April 13 that "political Islam" undermines efforts to integrate people in Germany.
     

According to UK site ‘express.co.uk’, a Greek government official from the Education Ministry, who wanted to remain anonymous told newspaper ‘Kathimerini’ that authorities fear that Muslims in Greece could be radicalised, if a mosque was not built for their religious needs soon.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has attended the opening ceremony of a culture center and mosque in the United States, while he was in the country to attend the Nuclear Security Summit. 

A mosque in the Albanian capital, Tirana, that will be one of the largest in the Balkans is continuing on schedule, according to an engineer working on the project.

There was a heart-warming news story in the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday titled: "Stray cats make their home in historic Istanbul mosque." Accordingly, the Aziz Mahmud Hüdayi Mosque, a beautiful Ottoman artifact from the 16th century located in Istanbul's Üsküdar district, has recently become the home of not just human worshippers but also feline refugees.