Muslims Hold Friday Prayers at Ospizio

TEHRAN (IQNA) – Muslims gathered at the Ospizio in Floriana, southeast of Malta, for their Friday prayers, the first time they prayed there after a controversy created in the past weeks when they used to assemble in Msida.

The government offered Muslims to pray there after protests against the practice. Muslims argued that the growth of their community in Malta made it impossible for them to all attend prayers at the mosque in Paola, the Malta Independent reported.

Some 300 Muslims turned up in Floriana Friday.

Minister Evarist Bartolo had been said to be meeting the Muslim community after the prayers but cancelled his visit at the last minute.

Islam in Malta, although only recently being reintroduced in a sizeable number in the latter half of the 20th century, has had a historically profound impact upon the country as a consequence of previous centuries of Muslim presence on its islands.