The Mosque of Ahmetçe, a town in the Kırklareli province on the border between Turkey and Bulgaria, has been turned into a haven against cold for stray cats thanks to the imam, Hüseyin Koçak. It all started when Koçak found a cat and her cubs shivering with cold in the courtyard of the mosque, and he decided to shelter and feed them. Later other worshipers followed suit, and now the mosque is a haven for homeless cats, who roam and play inside, and even mingle with people during prayers. “Every creature has the right to life. Winter is harsh, especially for animals. Our care and love for animals comes from the affection and sympathy that our prophet (Muhammad) felt for them. They are living creatures like humans , and Allah calls them (in the Qur’an) his ‘voiceless servants’: they cannot speak, but we understand what they want,” explains the imam. This is not the only case of an imam who shelters cats in Turkey, and even Hagia Sophia in Istanbul has been home to famous cats like Gli.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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