A new mosque is to be built on a premises in the center of Warsaw – wrote Sebastian Kaleta from Law and Justice. “Muslims will get MDM for pennies!” – Witold Tumanowicz from the Confederation threatened. The property in the city center was supposed to be rented to a Muslim foundation. According to politicians, this is part of the campaign to welcome migrants into the country. However, it turns out that the issue of renting the premises is not resolved at all, and the entries were used to spread anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim messages.
Law and Justice MP Sebastian Kaleta alarmed on social media that another mosque will be built in Warsaw. “I REVEAL #MosquetPlatforms are being created in Warsaw” – the politician (original spelling) was outraged. “The city hall has just announced that it will rent part of the famous MDM in the center of Warsaw for the needs of Muslims. 690 m2 will be rented for a mosque.” MDM is the Marszałkowska Residential District, a socialist realist housing complex in the center of Warsaw, built between 1950 and 1952. Kaleta ends the post with a question: “Are these preparations for the #MigranciTuska party?”
He added a screenshot with a fragment of the message “on the closure of the Competition Committee's work and the preliminary result of the competition” and two photos of the interior of the premises. From the announcement, we know that it is a premises at 45/49 Marszałkowska Street, with an area of 691 square meters. The bidder is the Muslim Foundation for Education and Integration (the name is circled in yellow), the rent it proposed is PLN 26,766. The type of business was also listed: “restaurant, grocery store, community center, conference and exhibition rooms with a chapel (with a prayer room)” – the last few words are also marked in yellow here.
Kaleta's entry has been viewed over 482,000 times, liked over 3.7 thousand times and retweeted over 1.5 thousand times. The information disseminated by a PiS MP caused a wave of anti-Muslim comments among users of the do they want to create hell on earth???”; “Put the pig's head there immediately!” – wrote Internet users. The following hashtags also gained popularity: #MosquesPlatforms, #MosquesTuska and #MigranciTuska.
Behind the PiS politician, they willingly shared information right-wing media and other Internet users. One of them he wrote: “The management board and actual beneficiaries of the foundation that has just received premises for a mosque on Marszałkowska Street. You feel safe, right?” – he ironized. The Internet user attached a screenshot from the Rejest.io website to his entry, showing the Arabic names of the board members and actual beneficiaries of the Muslim Foundation for Education and Integration. The entry has been viewed over 124,000 times so far. “God save Poland”; “It's all downhill from now. #MigranciTuska will quickly put Poland in the same row as Germany, France or Sweden,” we read in the comments.
“Muslims will get MDM for pennies!” – alarmed on the 10th Confederation politician Witold Tumanowicz. “Rafał Trzaskowski, known for fighting against crosses in offices, is also generous to the followers of Islam and will rent over 600 square meters of space in the center of Warsaw for only PLN 26,000 a month!” – he added. “This is a scandal! No to Islamization!” – commented the MP. Tumanowicz was referring to Trzaskowski's order issued in spring, which allegedly ordered the removal of crosses in Warsaw offices.
The result of the competition for the lease of premises is not final – the district authorities announced that they would invalidate it for formal reasons, and Kaleta's entry was used to spread anti-Muslim content.
Competition of the Real Estate Management Board
Information about the announcement of the competition for the rental of this premises at 45/49 Marszałkowska Street can be found at pages the capital's Real Estate Management Department. In the past, there was a store selling electronics and household appliances in this place. Śródmieście District competition she announced On September 12, 2024, the lease period was to be 10 years, and the terms of the offer specified that the premises could be rented for “gastronomy, catering without a full kitchen, trade, services/quiet services, office”.
In addition to the premises that Kaleta wrote about, three other properties were listed there. One of them is located in the same building as the one discussed in the text, and the other two are located at Jasna Street and al. Solidarity in Warsaw. The auctions took place on October 15, 2024, and the only bidder for the premises at Marszałkowska Street was the Muslim Foundation for Education and Integration (MFEI).
The mayor denies
MFEI has been operating in Poland since June 2023. “The Foundation was established in response to the growing needs of the Muslim community in Poland in the field of education and integration of children and youth while maintaining Muslim identity,” we read on its website. The foundation's main goals include running various types of educational and integration centers. The foundation runs an online school for children and a weekend residential school in Warsaw.
The foundation was listed in the competition documentation as a bidder, but this does not mean that it will become a tenant and “690 m2 will be rented for a mosque.” Aleksander Ferens, the mayor of the Śródmieście district, responded to Kaleta's entry. Local government official he explained like this: “The truth is: ZGN published the preliminary results of the competition for a vacant building. This one offer was received.” He added that the district management has not yet decided to sign the contract, and he himself, as mayor, will “recommend not to sign it.”
“Gazeta Wyborcza” she contacted with Mayor Ferens. He informed that the foundation would not receive the premises. “The fact that the result of the competition was announced does not mean that the foundation won it. It will probably not be resolved and the premises will be put up for competition again,” he told the newspaper. The reason for not signing the contract is said to be the foundation's financial statements. “It turned out that it was subsidized very little, and besides, it did not present a project addressed to the residents of Śródmieście, which was a condition for renting,” he explained.
We sent a request for comment on the competition and the premises to both the Śródmieście district authorities and the MFEI. “As part of the competition, only one offer was submitted – from the Muslim Foundation for Education and Integration. After formal verification, the Foundation was admitted to the auction, offering a net rent of PLN 26,766 per month,” we read in the response from the district authorities (original spelling). “Currently, the competition commission has completed its work and published the preliminary results of the competition. However, Mayor Ferens has not yet issued a final announcement about the results. Today (October 21 – editor) is the deadline for submitting any complaints.” Finally, the rules of the competition were referred to, which allow for its invalidation: “in accordance with the competition regulations ($1 point 6), the mayor has the right to invalidate the competition in whole or in part, which is also included in the Order of the Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw 136 /2020 ($10(4)). “The Mayor of the Śródmieście District of the capital city of Warsaw reserves the right to withdraw the premises put up for competition, no later than two days before the deadline for submitting offers, and to invalidate the competition in whole or in part,” we read in par. 1 point 6 regulations competition.
The Muslim Foundation for Education and Integration did not respond to a request for comment.
Main photo source: Leszek Szymański/PAP