The mosque on Rozenstraat in Hoogeveen has been extensively renovated in recent weeks. After a renovation in which the wall was tiled and a new pulpit and carpet were installed, the prayer house is on its way to becoming the first ‘green mosque’ in Drenthe.
The mosque attaches great importance to a green society, says chairman Yasar Eraslan. But, he acknowledges: “We also do it for the financial part, we now heat with air conditioning when necessary.” The house of worship has already had solar panels installed and also wants to have a heat pump and batteries connected in the future. “But we still have to save up for that.”
The mosque has only existed for five years, but it is already in need of renovation: “At the time, we had a second-hand carpet installed from another mosque because we simply had no money, and we also built the pulpit ourselves.” Now there is a brand new carpet and a traditional minbar (pulpit) with special tiles from Turkey has been installed.
No one, apart from a carpenter, was hired for the renovation. The mosque community tackled it themselves. Chairman Eraslan is proud of this: “This has become possible through donations, fundraising campaigns and a little self-saving.”