The Taipei City Government is looking for a suitable site to build a new mosque, which will hopefully have a plaza that could hold more than 50,000 people, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said at the 58th anniversary celebration of the Taipei Grand Mosque yesterday.
The Taipei Grand Mosque is inviting the public to visit this weekend to try halal food and see traditional Muslim clothing, or join a short tour to learn about the mosque and view exhibitions on its history and papercut artworks.
The construction of the mosque was finished in 1960 and it has become a significant religious site for Muslims in Taipei and across the nation, Ko said.
Photo: CNA
Many of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers in Taiwan are Muslims, and the mosque for the past few years has not been able to accommodate the large number of people who have come to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, he said.
The Turkish government proposed funding and building a new mosque in Taipei, which Ko discussed with Turkish officials when he visited Istanbul last year, Ko said, adding that on Friday last week, he signed documents regarding two possible constructions sites.
“Taipei has the greatest sincerity about building a new mosque in the city,” he said, adding that more than 50,000 people attended the Eid al-Fitr celebration in Taipei last year, so hopefully the plaza for the new mosque would be big enough to accommodate that many people.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
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