Regina’s Islamic association has big plans for the current site of the Pump Roadhouse.
A new mosque is in the works and will be built on that site.
“We are just in the process of acquiring the site. It is still owned by the previous owner, but we’ve put down the deposit on it and we’ve agreed to take over the site by the end of year,” said Munir Haque, president of the Islamic Association of Saskatchewan.
They made their plans official on Saturday on the site of the new structure.
“Once we acquire the site, our plan is to take down the building and have a fresh slate so we can building from scratch,” Haque said.
The group has yet to go over the specific details of how they will design the site.
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“We still have to figure out the exact location, orientation, how the parking is going to work and circulation. This is something we will be working on with professionals to determine,” Haque said.
Haque said the excitement has been growing in the Muslim community for a while and he’s looking forward to its completion.
“This will be an opportunity to have a purpose-built facility, one that is designed specifically catered to our needs,” Haque said. “We’ve been here for a long time and I’ve seen the community grow quite a bit and I think it’s a great opportunity to put our footprint on Regina and southern Saskatchewan.”
The new mosque will be the first purpose-built place of worship for Regina’s Sunni Muslims.
There is no timeline on when the new mosque will be complete, but Haque said the start of construction is still a few years away.