MUSLIM leaders are on the brink of opening Clitheroe’s first mosque.

The town’s small Islamic community has one last fundraising push ahead before members can open the Clitheroe Masjid.

It will allow them to worship in their home town for the first time since the community arrived there 40 years ago.

Phase one of the renovation of the disused former Mount Zion Methodist Chapel in Lowergate is now complete, seven years after the town’s Medina Islamic Education Centre was granted planning permission.

The medina group said all that remained was to fit the building out with heating and lighting, internal decoration and fittings, doors and windows, at a cost of £250,000, according to their website.

When planning permission was granted in 2006, hundreds of objection letters were sent, some of which the council deemed too racist to include in public documents.

However, Farouk Hussain, chairman of Medina Islamic Education Centre, said he had received a positive reaction on the progress from all sectors of the community.

He said: “It is almost complete now, which is a major achievement after 40 years. The ground floor is now done and the car park is ready. It’s been a long time coming, so there is a positive reaction from Muslims in the town.

“However, the support from across the town is really wonderful. We’ve been getting positive reactions from interfaith groups and people of no religion too are getting behind the project.

“The building itself is ready, and it has been restored to what is was originally – a place of worship. We value the building and its history and it will remain the same as when Lowry painted it as part of his Clitheroe street scene.

“We have no intention to change it, but to keep the building, its history and religious significance alive.”

Once open, the centre will provide vital services for Muslims in the area, as well as a centre for community events, and a refreshment area for every- one.

Clitheroe town councillor Jim Shervey said: “People of all faiths have the right to have somewhere to worship.

“There were some worries and concerns a few years ago, but my understanding is that they have all been dealt with and assuaged.

“It’s a good use of the building, and obviously it is better to be used for a purpose than left standing empty.”