MALMO – The largest mosque in Scandinavia opened on Wednesday, May 3, offering Muslims, people with special needs, women and children facilities to practice their faith and perform prayers, Qatar News Agency reported.

The Umm Al-Mu’minin Khadijah Mosque in Malmo, Sweden, is affiliated to the Wakf of Scandinavia in Sweden.

It is built on an area of 1791 square meters and can accommodate 2,000 worshipers.

Director of the Islamic Affairs Department at the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Khalid Shaheen Al Ghanim said the mosque was built and furnished by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs in the state of Qatar at the cost of more than 3 million euros.

He added that the Umm Al-Mu’minin Khadijah Mosque is the largest mosque in Scandinavia and is located on the first and second floors of the four-story building of the Wakf of Scandinavia in Sweden.

The mosque is equipped with facilities for people with special needs to perform prayers and others for children and women.

The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of Swedish local authorities, representatives of Islamic institutions in Sweden and Denmark, as well as a number of businessmen.

Malmo is the capital and largest city of the Swedish county of Scania. It is also the third largest city in Sweden, where thousands of Muslims live.

Muslims make up between 450,000 and 500,000 of Sweden’s nine million people, according to the US State Department report in 2011.