The first mosque in Northern Basque region in France was inaugurated on Sunday, May 4.
It was launched in the city of Bayonne in a ceremony attended by local officials and representatives of France’s Islamic institutions, the desdomesetdesminarets website reported.
Construction of the mosque had started in 2008 by the Basque region’s Cultural Society of Muslims.
Built on a 2000-square-meter plot of land, the mosque has two prayer halls- one for men and one for women- and can accommodate 300 worshippers.
It also includes a conference hall, a library, a tall minaret and classes for holding courses on Quran recitation and memorization and the Arabic language.
Construction of the mosque has cost some 700,000 euro.
Anti-Islamic groups had opposed the mosque and held numerous protests to hinder its construction but failed to do so as Muslims managed to provide the required documents to the municipality and acquire permission.
France is home to approximately 6 million Muslims and has the largest Muslim minority in Western Europe.