Funding target reached for Western Isles' first mosque

A fundraising campaign to open the first mosque in the Western Isles has exceeded its target figure of £50,000.

The crowdfunding scheme has generated more than £59,000.

A semi-derelict store building in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis is to be converted into a mosque, which could be opened this summer.

The plans were approved by the islands' council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, last year.

The building involved is in Stornoway's James Street.

The comhairle gave consent for a mosque on the site in 2013, before the new application for planning permission was submitted in 2017 and approved.

There has been a Muslim community in the Western Isles since 1945.

In 2016, two families of Syrian refugees were settled into homes in Stornoway.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar offered accommodation for the eight people as part of a UK government-funded scheme.

The resettlement scheme was set up in response to the war in Syria and offers homes to refugees in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

The comhairle is among several Scottish local authorities to provide accommodation.

The families were the first to be settled in the Western Isles.