UK's largest mosque to fully reopen after 2015 fire

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Britain's largest mosque will fully reopen on Saturday, after an expensive renovation following the partial destruction of the complex in a major fire in 2015, AFP reported.

The five-story Baitul Futuh Mosque, in the Morden area of South London, can accommodate up to 13,000 worshippers. The vast prayer hall survived the fire, but the mosque's administrative block, which housed functional rooms, was destroyed.

It was renovated using light stone imported from Portugal at a cost of 20 million pounds ($24 million), which was fully paid for by community members, according to mosque officials.

Mohammed Nasser Khan, vice president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association UK, said the new complex will offer improved facilities, including for children's education.

"But what is more important for me personally, and I think for many members of the community, is that our neighbours and all people who visit these premises, have a facility that they can also be proud of," he told AFP.

Around 1,500 people are expected to attend the reopening, including British politicians, diplomats, and religious leaders.

The Ahmadiyya group has about 35,000 followers in Britain, out of a total of about four million Muslims. They are most numerous in Pakistan.

A sixteen-year-old boy was accused of deliberately starting the fire in London, but was acquitted of arson at a trial in 2017.