New mosque on the prairie in Regina

For a number of people in Regina, building a little mosque on the prairie has been a big dream.

It's now closer to becoming areality.

Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community held a stone laying ceremony on Wednesday to celebrate the construction of a new mosquein east Regina.

25 years in the making

The president of the ReginaAhmadiyya Muslim community,Habib Rehman, said when he arrived in the city there were only about 10 members.It has now grown to more than 80.

"Our mosques are built completely on donations of the members and now that we have grown we have been able collect enough donations to build a mosque," Rehman said.

Room for growth

Members will do a majority of the construction on the new building to keep costs down. The mosque will be able to fit 160 worshippers. Rehman believes itmay fill quickly.

"I see many more people coming here. Wherever we have built mosques people have moved there," he said."I hope a lot more community will immigrate to Regina after our mosque is built."

It's slated to open in 2016.