The Helsinki Administrative Court ruled that religious activities on the premises do not constitute kindergarten activities as specified in a facilities permit.

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The Helsinki Administrative Court rejected appeals related to a fine imposed last year on a functioning mosque in an apartment building in Helsinki.

The owner of the property, the housing company Ormuspuisto and the Pohjoisemaiden Säätiö (“Nordic Foundation”), which operates from its headquarters in the Malmi district, appealed against the decision of the permits department of the Helsinki Urban Environment Division.

In October 2023, the city threatened both with fines unless the foundation stopped using the space designated by the preschool as an assembly space by the end of January 2024.

The mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen (NCP) told Yle in September 2023 that city officials were working to stop an unauthorized mosque from operating in the building.

Noise complaints

Until 2012, the 450 square meter space on the ground floor of the block was used by a day nursery. After that, the Nordic Foundation moved into space.

According to a complaint filed by the building’s owner, the foundation’s activities cause noise disturbances due to communal meals and the sounds of prayer, for example.

A resident shareholder of the building, who lives above the space, filed a noise complaint, claiming that the space is used for male congregational prayer several times each day of the week.

The administrative court ruled that the religious activities in the premises are not kindergarten activities, as stipulated in the building permit.

The foundation has denied that its use of the space violates the zoning plan. He claimed that the space is not a mosque, but rather a center focused on activities for children and youth, where office work is also done. According to the foundation, activities are guided by the promotion of the Islamic faith, although the foundation is not a registered religious community.

Pohjoisemaiden Säätiö also stated that the fine imposed by the city is not reasonable. It is a current fine with a fixed base amount of 100,000 thousand euros.

The fine issued by the town hall against the housing company, Asunto Oy Ormuspuisto, is 25,000 euros. The firm requested that the fine be applied only to the foundation.

IN A interview with the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper, the seat of the foundation, Aladdin Mahersaid the property was bought with donations from businessmen in Saudi Arabia.

Another member of the council, Imam Oulu Abdul Mannanhe said to Yle ITV programme in 2019, that his daughter and her husband left to join the terrorist group Isis in Syria, where his son-in-law later died.