The inauguration was led by Rijeka Imam Hajrudin Mujkanovic and was addressed by Josipovic, Izetbegovic, Minister al-Kuwari, Croatian Parliament Speaker Josip Leko, the Croatian prime minister's envoy and president of the government's commission for relations with religious communities - Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic, the head of the European Union Delegation to Croatia - Paul Vandoren, the head of the Islamic Community in Croatia - Mufti Aziz Hasanovic, Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic, the secretary-general of the Croatian Bishops' Conference - Msgr Enzo Rodinis, and the president of the Rijeka Islamic Community Majlis - Ekrem Budimilic.
The Islamic Centre, the place of prayer and gathering of 10,000-12,000 Islamic faithful in Rijeka and Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, has been declared the most beautiful mosque in Europe, the Islamic Community said.
The idea for the centre originated with the late Croatian sculptor Dusan Dzamonja and was realised by architects Darko Vlahovic and Branko Vucinovic.
The centre covers 5,300 square metres in area. It has four storeys with a mosque, offices of the Rijeka Islamic Community Majlis, a conference centre, a hall, a restaurant, community premises, flats, and an underground car park. The minaret is 23 metres tall.
Construction cost HRK 76 million (EUR 10 mln) and was financed by the Rijeka Islamic Community Majlis and many sponsors, the biggest of them being Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The conference centre will be named after him.
The foundation stone was laid on 3 October 2009 and construction began in March 2010.