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The mosque project planned for the filled land at Kadıköy wharf has been approved by the Conservation Board following intense pressure from the AKP.
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The Kadıköy waterfront mosque project, which the AKP has persistently kept on the agenda for years, has crossed an important legal threshold. According to Cumhuriyet newspaper, the Conservation Board has approved the mosque planned to be built on the wharf's filled land.
The project has long been contentious, particularly over whether it is compatible with Istanbul's historical and cultural fabric. Opposition parties and urban planners have opposed it on the grounds of the filled area's zoning status and its proximity to the historic peninsula.
Kadıköy is a district under the CHP-led Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and has frequently been a flashpoint for political tensions with the AKP. Following the Conservation Board's decision, major administrative obstacles facing the project are assessed to have been largely removed; however, whether legal appeals will follow remains unclear.
A mosque project planned for the landfill area on Kadıköy's waterfront has been approved by the Protection Board. With this decision, the major administrative obstacles to the project have been removed, though legal objection processes are expected to continue.
The project approval will directly affect Kadıköy's urban planning and the use of the waterfront area. This project, which has been opposed by opposition parties and urban planners, will mean a reshaping of Istanbul's historical and cultural fabric.
Anna Kuznetsova