The Muslim community has warmly welcomed a Catholic church school’s offer to host communal prayers as the dispute over a proposed prayer room in Buġibba continues.
“Things look positive,” Malta Muslim Council spokesman Bader Zina told the Times of Malta. “An offer like this shows there are still many people who are mature and who feel for others. We welcome their offer with happiness and an open heart and will be reaching out to discuss it further.”
Earlier yesterday, the administration of St Albert the Great College in Valletta announced that they had offered the school’s facilities to the Muslim community in a show of solidarity.
The Muslim Council applied last month to convert a shop in Buġibba into a prayer room, part of a longstanding issue surrounding lack of adequate spaces for prayer around the island.
The proposal was met with fierce opposition from the St Paul’s Bay local council, citing concerns over parking and public order, as well as far-right groups.
In a statement, the St Albert the Great administration described the objections as “dubious”, arguing that similar concerns had not been raised against other communities.
The school said many of the Muslims seeking prayer space had been forced to flee their countries because they could not enjoy a proper life there, and should be welcomed and entitled to the same opportunities for communal prayer afforded to other believers.
“The school welcomes students of all backgrounds, including Muslims, and celebrates this hospitality as an integral part of our Christian and human nature,” head of school Mario Mallia and Dominican provincial Frans Micallef said.
“As an educational community, we cannot remain silent in the face of a controversy that divides and discriminates on the basis of fear and prejudice.”
In January, some 200 people met in an Msida square over several weeks for Friday prayers, drawing attention to the situation after having been evicted from a number of meeting places around the island due to lack of permits.
The prayer meetings drew right-wing protests before the government stepped in to offer the community the temporary use of the Ospizio in Floriana while discussing a more permanent solution, which has not yet yielded any fruit.