Bogazici University rector aims to build a mosque next to dormitory

Bogazici University Development Foundation (BUVAKIF), established by the rector Naci Inci as an alternative to Bogazici University Foundation (BUVAK) aims to build a mosque, dormitory, and housing 200 meters away from the 500-person student dormitory located on the Ucaksavar Campus of the university.

According to the construction plan, the mosque area, which is planned to be four-story tall, is about four times the size of the dormitory and housing area. Residents of the Etiler Neighborhood are collecting signatures to stop the construction, stating that there are already three mosques nearby.

Approximately 3,500 square meters of woodland area was covered with panels last month and about 10 trees were cut down. On the panels, it was written that the construction was for “Etiler Mosque and Bogazici University Student Dormitory Construction.” According to the sign, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change gave the construction license to a company called Sistema Teknolojik Yapi on May 27, 2022.

Bogazici University Rectorate said that BUVAKIF demanded the construction. In addition, it was said that the construction site belonged to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) until recently.

The neighborhood residents wrote on the panels that they need greenery and trees, not a mosque and that this plot of land should be a fruit garden.

The construction is on a dead-end street, at the entrance of two parking lots. The neighborhood residents think that the land is insufficient for a mosque, dormitory, and housing and that the street can not handle the traffic that would occur in situations such as prayers or funerals. In addition, there are already three mosques within a one-kilometer radius.

 The residents demanded the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, IBB, and the Besiktas Municipality to stop the construction. They are also preparing to file a lawsuit to stop the construction of the mosque, dormitory, and housing.

The issue of dormitory and housing has recently been an issue with people close to the trustee rector Naci Inci receiving housing from university buildings. Naci Inci's administration also left nearly 600 students homeless shortly before the opening of the school. The Bogazici Executives Foundation, where students were directed, suggested the dormitories of pro-government Islamist foundations and associations such as Ensar, Turgev, Diyanet, and Ilim Yayma.