“The dream of a mosque in Incheon will become a reality” Muslim YouTuber… The feasibility is

It is known that the Jung-gu Office in charge of a domestic YouTuber’s plan to build a mosque on land near the Incheon International Airport Expressway in Jung-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City will have difficulty obtaining actual permission.

According to Jung-gu, Incheon, on the 17th, YouTuber A, who has about 5.5 million subscribers, recently posted on his social networking service (SNS), “With your help, I have signed a contract for land to build a mosque in Incheon.” in Incheon),” and wrote, “We plan to build a prayer center for missions and an Islamic podcast studio.” Mr. A, who even revealed his bank account number as if he intended to receive full-scale sponsorship, even expressed confidence in an additional post, saying, “My dream will become a reality.”

Nearly 100,000 netizens left comments on Mr. A’s social media post revealing the land contract and sale agreement to build a mosque in Incheon, most of whom are presumed to be domestic and foreign Muslims. The land purchased by Mr. A for 189.2 million won is located in Unbuk-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, with a total area of ​​284.4㎡. There are no residential areas nearby, but according to the portal site map, Haneul High School and Yeongjong Station of the Airport Railroad are located about 1km away in a straight line. It is confirmed to be in place.

There are continued voices of concern from the local community of Yeongjong residents. One resident pointed out, “I don’t know how great the person who bought the land is, but they say he has a history of sexual crimes.” Another resident brought up an example of a conflict surrounding the construction of a mosque that had already occurred in Daegu and said, “We also opposed it by roasting a pig.” “Shouldn’t there be a protest?” he commented. Amidst various concerns, one resident emphasized that there was no need to be concerned about Mr. A’s personal actions, citing the fact that he does not represent Islam.

Mr. A, who is known to have converted from Catholicism to Islam, is also said to have uploaded a video of his own apology to his YouTube channel after being accused of sexually assaulting a foreign woman in 2020, when he was popular for related YouTube content.

Jung-gu has not received a building permit application from Mr. A, but it is believed that it will not be easy to build a religious meeting hall on the site. When reviewing permission for development activities, all surrounding environments are taken into consideration, but the purpose is that it may be difficult to obtain permission for a religious assembly hall due to the poor road conditions near the site. In addition, the land on which Mr. A signed a sales contract is a natural green area with a building-to-land ratio of 20% and a floor area ratio of up to 80%, so even if permission is granted, there is a possibility that it will be a small building of 65 to 100 m2.

An official from Jung-gu told Yonhap News, “It appears that Mr. A has only signed a land sale contract and has not yet secured ownership,” and added, “If he were to apply for a building permit, it would be a religious meeting place as a neighborhood living facility, but considering all surrounding conditions, it is currently not possible to secure it.” “It is judged that it will be difficult to obtain permission for this route,” he said.

Reporter Kim Dong-hwan [email protected]

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