SEVILLE, June 14, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – Plans to build the first grand mosque in the Spanish southern city of Seville are proceeding at full swing, despite fierce opposition form few locals.

In May, the Muslim association of Seville reached an agreement with the authorities on building the mosque, expected to be one of Europe's biggest mosques.

Arab Gulf countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, will finance the two-year construction of the mosque, expected to total six million euros, according to Spanish media.

The daily of El-Pais recently said that Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, ruler of Sharjah, one of the seven emirates forming the UAE, is a main financer.

The mosque, to be built on a space of 6,000 square meters, is expected to accommodate up to the 10,000 worshipers.

It will include a library, conference and exhibition halls as well as places for cultural activities.

The mosque will be constructed on the Islamic and Andalusian architecture, similar to the Granada mosque.

Ever since the mosque plans were made public, some locals have been rallying support against its construction.

They want the mosque land to be used in building more residential buildings or public services projects.

The mosque opponents have even launched a Web site claiming that Islam will dominate the world.

They also took to the streets on June 8, to demand the construction plans be dropped.

Worse still, they slaughtered a pig and left its head at the construction location, believing such a step would push the Muslims to drop the plans.

However, the majority of Seville population, including the local church, have reaffirmed support for the mosque construction.

Luis Badeni, a Spanish writer who embraced Islam 25 years ago, said the mosque would serve the people of Seville and not just Muslims.

Spain has a Muslim community of about 600,000 people out of a total population of 40 million.