Frédéric Kanoute raises $1m to build Seville's first mosque in 700 years
- Frédéric Kanoute, through a decent campaign, raised $1m to establish a purpose-built mosque
- Seville has not had one for more than 700 years
- Kanoute, who had a spell in his career with Sevilla, fell in love with the Islam culture in the city which has an estimated 30,000 Muslims
Former Tottenham Hotspur and Sevilla player Frédéric Kanoute earned plaudits from fans worldwide after raising $1m to build a mosque and cultural centre in Seville, Spain.
Kanoute’s campaign dubbed LaunchGood was started in 2019 and less than a year later proved to be a success.
The LaunchGood is a crowdfunding platform mainly focused on the welfare of the Muslim community across the world.
PAY ATTENTION: Click “See First” under the “Following” tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed!
The former Sevilla man took to social media on Tuesday, May 19, to announce the success of the campaign as he thanked all those who participated.
"Thank you and may Allah reward for you for all those who participated in the campaign," his tweet read.
The move was quite commendable since it was revealed that there had not been a purpose-built mosque in the city of Seville for more than 700 years.
Since calling it quits from football, Kanoute has been involved in community work as he partnered with the Seville Mosque Foundation (SMF) IN 2019.
According to the Malian-French former professional footballer , the “beautiful mix” of Muslim community in Seville was quite appealing to him.
PAY ATTENTION: Become a member of the leading sports Facebook group 'Naija Football Fan Zone'
"When I arrived there [Seville], it was very difficult to find a mosque. I had to ask people," Kanoute told Al Jazeera.
About 30,000 of Spain’s 2 million Muslim population lives in Seville.
The $1million project on paper looks like a follow up project to a “temporary mosque” Kanoute established in 2007, when he bought a musalla, or prayer space in Seville.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Senegalese captain Sadio Mane has narrated the importance of him being a Muslim and also explained that he lost his father while he was just 7 years old.
Liverpool forward Mane disclosed this in a new documentary where he gave detailed insight about his fate and the tragic loss of his dad.
Recall that the social media was agog when a footage emerged where the Liverpool forward was filmed washing the toilet in a local mosque a few hours after he scored in a Premier League game.
A few hours after helping the Anfield side to their victory against Leicester in the 2018/2019 season, the Senegalese star joined Muslim faithfuls to clean the toilet of the mosque he prays.
What Messi told me at the World Cup - Vincent Enyeama | Legit TV
Source: Legit.ng
Nomso Obiajuru Nomso Obiajuru has 10 years of working experience in sports journalism and is currently the Team Lead of Sports editorial offices at Legit. He has met and interviewed some of the most influential sports personalities in the world while working at Legit.ng, Sports Brief and HipTV. Nomso obtained a degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos in 2012. Email: nomso.obiajuru@corp.legit.ng
Khadijah Thabit (Copyeditor) Khadijah Thabit is an editor with over 3 years of experience editing and managing contents such as articles, blogs, newsletters and social leads. She has a BA in English and Literary Studies from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Khadijah joined Legit.ng in September 2020 as a copyeditor and proofreader for the Human Interest, Current Affairs, Business, Sports and PR desks. As a grammar police, she develops her skills by reading novels and dictionaries. Email: khadeeejathabit@gmail.com