Norway: Ahmadiyya Bait-un-Nasr Mosque to add planned community, cultural center

“Yes, we would like to have more attractive homes on Furuset, preferably smaller homes and buildings,” says January Bøhler, head of the Oslo Labour Party. 

An architect's vision of the future development 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: NRK News | Aftenposten
By Magnus Brattset Drabløs | March 13, 2012
Adopted from Google translation.

Ahmadiyya community in Oslo wants to build housing, cultural and business center around the mosque site, writes Aftenposten.

It is uncertain who will be charged with development of the plans, but the community does not want to sell the land.

- Open Sales

“We do not have the details ready yet,” says Ayaz Mahmood Ahmed, secretary of the community. “But we can foresee building homes by the organization and we are trying to raise capital through contributions by members of the community.”

The community is made up of nearly 2000 members in Norway, most of whome already live in Oslo or the neighboring municipalities.

But there are also members of Kristiansand, Bodø, Trondheim and Tønsberg whom, Ayaz feels, would like to move into the new apartments.

“It may be attractive to our members to settle there,” says Ayaz. “But it is an open sale, so if someone else also wants to, they can buy too.”

 - Need more inclusion

“Yes, we would like to have more attractive homes on Furuset, preferably smaller homes and buildings,” says January Bøhler, head of the Oslo Labour Party.

But, one should be careful,  Bøhler says, not to post any religious constraints on the living environment.

“We need more inclusion of Furuset, not more uniform living environments,”  Jan Bøhler told NRK.

Bøhler does not want to speculate, and emphasizes that he is in favor of new, attractive homes on Furuset. However he cautions the Ahmadiyya community to not favor their own when the houses will be sold.

“Anyone who owns land has the right to apply to start building projects, said Bøhler . “And then we'll see how they select to develop it and whether they will be neutral about it.”

“I think I will be wise,” Bøhler added

  -- Magnus.Brattset.Drablos@nrk.no
  -- Adopted from Google translation.

Read original post here: Mosque to add planned community, cultural center