A group of nearly 15 people dressed in military fatigues took over an abandoned building in an gritty inner Athens district on Wednesday where a proposed mosque will be built, saying they plan to host a “hotspot” for homeless Greeks.
The action drew immediate criticism by ruling SYRIZA party and the municipal government of Athens, which owns the building and the tract of land it sits on.
Construction of the first official mosque in Athens has been delayed for decades, in the face of determined opposition in the predominately Eastern Orthodox country to the prospect.
According to the ruling leftist party the action has racist overtones.
The group locked down the building and placed barbed wire around entrances and windows.
