The chairman of the Reykjavík environment and planning board, Páll Hjaltason, has said that the board’s promise to grant the Association of Muslims in Iceland a plot of land in Sogamýri on which to build a mosque will be met.
The land was approved for the purpose in January of this year.
The Association plans to build a mosque with a nine-meter high minaret, though the final design will be decided upon in cooperation with municipal authorities and the Association of Icelandic Architects, ruv.is reports.
The mosque, which will be 800 square meters, will function as a community center, library and large prayer room.
According to the head of the Association of Muslims in Iceland, Sverrir Agnarsson, it is hoped that construction can begin next year. Construction costs are expected to be ISK 400 million (USD 3 million, EUR 2.4 million).
There are two Muslim associations in Iceland, the Muslim Association of Iceland, which, according to Statistics Iceland, has 465 members, while the Muslim Cultural Centre in Iceland has 305 members.
The mosque will be the first in Iceland.