St Paul’s Bay councillors unanimously object to Muslim prayer room

The island of Malta welcomed Paul of Tarsus, a convert to Christianity shipwrecked here some time in 60 A.D. on his way to Rome to stand trial for proselytising in Jerusalem.

But today, the seaside locality named in honour of his Maltese advent, St Paul’s Bay, is unwilling to support a planning application for Muslims to have a prayer room where they can congregate for worship.

Today the local council said it will be objecting to a planning application for the change of use and sanctioning of a garage into a prayer room in Triq il-Mazzola, Buġibba. Taking to Facebook to explain the decision, mayor Graziella Galea said the council had unanimously agreed to oppose the permit, following a meeting attended by a substantial number of residents.

Galea said the proposed prayer room was inadequate for worship, and would create a hindrance to public order and increase problems for parking space.

St Paul's Bay mayor Graziella Galea took to Facebook to explain the decision

A member of the Malta Muslim Council Foundation (MMCF), representing the Muslim community, reportedly said during the meeting that the lack of mosques and prayer rooms was causing issues with space. According to councillor Raymond Tabone, who spoke to MaltaToday, the the MMCF has been seeking out a new place of worship for the last 15 years, but have always been turned down time and time again, even though there is reportedly no specific policy for prayer rooms.

"Actually, there are about 20 religious organisations at the moment looking for a place to dedicate to worship," he said.

The Muslim faith stipulates that men are obliged to pray in congregation once a week on Friday for the afternoon prayer.

Galea also made reference to the fact that the site had already been in operation as a prayer room without the legal documentation. “Illegal activities such as this should not be allowed, particularly in tourist areas, for several obvious reasons,” she said, adding that similar illegal activities reduce the value of property in the area.

Galea urged people who object to the proposal to address the Planning Authority on the topic, as it is the body with the power to approve or reject planning applications.

Tabone said that the council was not opposed to having a Muslim prayer room in the locality, but had issues with the specific location of the proposed building.

“The place which has been proposed is quite small, to the point where people have even spilled out into the street. This has caused obstructions to everyday activities,” Tabone said. “The place is not adequate as a place of prayer, that is the reason why the council has decided to object to it.”

Another complaint, according to Tabone, was the noise radiating from the prayer room.

“Some residents complained that people were gathering as early as 4:00am to pray, which is too early. They claimed that the noise was affecting the price of their property,” he said.

Other groups have also objected to the prayer room, including far-right anti-Muslim hate group Soldiers of Odin, whose online posts seem to insinuate that there is some sort of threat from Muslims.

Far-right anti-Muslim hate group Soldiers of Odin insinuate that Muslims are a threat to Malta

“People became concerned when the Muslim community continued to pray in this area even after the police had intervened and asked them to stop,” Tabone said, adding, however, that the Muslim community seemed to be aware of such sentiment.

“I can quote the MMCF member who said that ‘the MMCF is willing to defend Malta from anyone with differing ideas’”, he said, explaining that the MMCF member was referring to extremists.

Considering the reasons behind the local council’s objection, MaltaToday asked if the council is planning on finding an alternative location where the Muslim community to pray.

“It is my personal opinion that the council should stay out of it,” Tabone replied. “St Paul’s Bay is a very multicultural town, we cannot accommodate every single community. I think the best solution would be to open a multi-faith place of worship,” he said, reiterating that the location has to be adequate and specifically for the purpose of worship.