Gaza: Land of 1,230 Mosques. Its people are begining to question why.

Gaza, an area 25 miles long and 8 miles wide has 1,230 mosques, many ornate and extravagant.

The people of Gaza are begining to ask why.

Imam al-Shafei Mosque in the al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza was built at a cost of $3.5 million.

Imam al-Shafei Mosque in Gaza

Al-Hassayna Mosque in Gaza City cost over $2 million.

Al-Hassayna Mosque in Gaza

The Al-Khalidi and Salim Abu Muslim mosques in Gaza were built at a cost over  $1 million each.  More lavish mosques will be opening soon.

Gaza's Al-Khalidi Mosque

In improverished Gaza, citizens are begining to question the wisdom of such lavish expenses.
From Al-Monitor:
 
Mohammad al-Khalidi, a citizen from Gaza, poured out his resentment of such luxury mosques. “The Ministry of Endowments claims that the donors funding the construction of the mosques want to spend this much money on them. But why would it [the ministry] not inform the donors that there are other fields in Gaza where the donations could be more useful? Mosques can be built at a reasonable cost and the remainder of the donations could be used to build hospitals, schools or residences, for example.

Al Khalidi questioned these priorities:

“The opening of the Khalil al-Wazir Mosque in the coming months will stir an uproar among Gazans due to the large number of mosques already present in Gaza, in the absence of development projects, hospitals and sewage networks. For example, in the Beit Lahia area in northern Gaza, the Salim Abu Muslim Mosque was built at a cost of $1 million, while a nonregulated landfill in the area is endangering the health of the locals and the environment.”

The construction of these lavish mosques in Gaza is yet another indication of how out of touch the  Hamas leadership is to the needs of its people and how misplaced its priorities have been.

Read more here:
Gazans outraged over millions of dollars spent building mosques