A synagogue in Marseille is going to be converted into a mosque to accommodate the growing Muslim population in the southern French city, according to a report from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The Or Thora synagogue, which was reportedly purchased by the Muslim cultural organisation Al Badr for $400,000, will be reopened as a mosque this summer to address the demand for more Muslim places of worship.
"For the past 20 years or so we have seen the shift of the Jewish community to other neighbourhoods," the city's top Jewish leader Zvi Ammar told the news agency Tuesday.
"Marseille's Jewish community is thriving, with the number of synagogues nearly doubling to 58 from 32 over the past three decades," he added.
French newspaper La Provence reports that there are now 70,000 Jews in the city and they make up one of France's—and Europe's—largest Jewish communities.
Marseille, a Mediterranean port city with nearly two million population, also counts around 220,000 Muslims, of whom 70,000 are practising, Newsweek reports.
In 1990, France had an estimated population of 568,000 Muslims. Today, the population has reached some 4.7 million, Pew Research Center reports.
Pew says the conversion of the synagogue into a mosque will somehow help meet the needs of the growing number of Muslim worshippers in the southern city.
A Grand Mosque is also expected to be constructed in the city, said Ammar. But the project promised by the city mayor is reportedly embroiled in controversy.
The proposed grand mosque has an estimated cost of some 23 million euros ($26 million) and designed to be France's largest.
