A long-delayed mosque in Athens will open later this year as the coronavirus pandemic impeded preparations, officials have said.

The mosque project began in 2007 in the face of strong opposition from the influential Orthodox Church of Greece and nationalist sentiment against neighbouring majority-Muslim Turkey.

“Procedures were to a certain extent delayed during the pandemic, but we are speeding up work and aim to have the mosque running by the end of autumn,” the ministry of education and religious affairs said in a statement to AFP.

Another government source said the end of October was a realistic target “barring another lockdown”.