NEWS

Flares thrown into makeshift mosque near Piraeus

Suspected members of the extreme right-wing Chrysi Avgi (Golden Dawn) attacked a makeshift mosque in Kaminia, near Piraeus, late on Friday, using flares, causing alarm among Muslim worshippers but no injuries.

According to witnesses, around 15 people pulled up outside the basement prayer site on motorcycles at around 10 p.m. on Friday and threw the flares down the stairs. The worshippers emerged from the basement, which filled with the smoke emitted by the flares, but were not harmed.

In the absence of an official mosque, Attica?s Muslims have for years prayed in improvised prayer sites — mostly converted basement apartments — which have increasingly come under attack with the rise of Golden Dawn. On August 19, the official end of Ramadan, thousands of worshippers are expected to congregate at the Olympic Stadium of Athens (OAKA) and at the Peace and Friendship Stadium (SEF) in the southern suburb of Neo Faliro which authorities have made available for Muslim community groups.

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