Source: canberratimes.com.au | Stephen Jeffery

A vacant block behind the Narrabundah Ball Park could soon be home to the first permanent Ahmadi mosque in Canberra.

The city’s Ahmadiyya Muslim community is one step closer to securing a custom-built mosque after the government offered the 4000 square metre block for their use.

The decision could mark the beginning of the end of the religious group’s five-year search for a site on which to build a permanent place of worship, which was beset with arguments over the suitability of land in two other suburbs.

The president of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association’s ACT chapter, Khalid Syed, said the group would next contact architects to begin development application preparations.

He said the Ahmadi community was “very, very happy” about the development.

“We are very grateful to the ACT government, I think this is a really good and positive outcome,” he said.

“It’s still in very early stages and we’re still in the… read more at source.