Ilari Rantakari, the chairman of the Forum for Culture and Religion FOKUS told Yle on Tuesday that the royal family of Bahrain has made a commitment to finance the initial phase of the mosque project.
"In practice, this start-up phase means preparatory work and an international architectural competition with a combined cost of less than one million euros," explained Rantakari.
Final funding for the project is to be sought from a number of international sources, but project management will be handled by a foundation to be established in Finland.
According to Rantakari, the cost of the mosque could be anything from tens of millions to as much as over a hundred million euros, with other services also being offered at the place of worship.
"The vision is for a services and conference centre associated with the mosque which will include a swimming hall, office space, a healthcare service and large facilities for holding, for example, international gatherings," Rantakari told Yle.
The plan calls for the total floor space to be 10,000 to 20,000 square metres. This would make the mosque a notable landmark in the Finnish capital. A controversial project for a Guggenheim museum in Helsinki envisages a building of around 12,000 square metres.
At the moment, the mosque project is awaiting a decision by the City of Helsinki on a site where it could possibly be constructed. Organizations representing Muslim interests in Finland have carried out discussions on possible locations.
"Among the areas that have been brought up are the Kalasatama district, Hanasaari and central Pasila. The Kalasatama district would be good as the largest part of Helsinki's Muslim population live in the eastern part of the city," says Rantakari. According to Rantakari, one prerequisite is that the City provides the non-profit project with a site at no cost.
In addition to the Forum for Culture and Religion FOKUS preparations to create a foundation to manage the venture include the Finnish Muslim Union and the Finnish Association of Muslin Women.