Local residents in the Calo des Moro area of San Antonio have made a formal complaint about the proposed creation of a mosque on the ground floor of an apartment block in the area.
They explained that they consider the area to be a “tourist zone” and insist that a religious centre of this type should be in a separate building and not part of an existing residential block of apartments.
One resident explained “Our group of 28 neighbours have discovered that the ground floor commercial premises have been purchased with the intention of creating a mosque. This is the best tourist area of San Antonio and we think it is not compatible with any religious centres”.
The local residents have also complained that there has been work taking place on the premises during the night time and after these initial complaints a meeting was called where signatures were collected against the creation of this religious center and presented to the town hall to express their opposition.
San Antonio town hall has explained that the El Fath Cultural Association presented an “approval request” in November 2015 that was required prior to the purchase of premises and that technicians reported favorably as “it met all legal requirements” although they pointed out that the project would be reviewed at a late date. Over the last couple of weeks the cultural association has presented a basic project for the mosque with the plan to combine 3 premises.
As of yet town hall technicians have not yet assessed the plan “so no work had been authorized” and in this respect town planners will investigate the allegation that work has been preformed without authorisation.
Source: Periodico de Ibiza
"MAN IN SAN AN" by Martin Makepeace 