A CROWDFUNDING campaign has been set up to help raise the £500,000 needed to secure a site in Bradford for the country’s first women-led mosque.

The plans were first announced by the Muslim Women’s Council in 2015 and the group says it is now in the process of securing a site for the building - likely to be in or near the city centre.

The group has also revealed that it wants to base the building on the award-winning Hayder Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, which was designed by acclaimed international architect Zaha Hadid, who died last year.

The aim is for the mosque to be operational by 2020.

Bana Gora, chief executive of the Muslim Women’s Council, said the there was a need to “revitalise” mosques, moving away from gender segregated spaces.

She said the proposed design for the mosque was a deliberate move away from the “domes and minarets” of traditional mosques.

Although the planned mosque will be open to men and women, it will be the first in the country to be led and governed by women.

Men and Imams will be invited to join advisory groups and lead prayers.

The group says that the traditional way mosques are run, where women and men pray separately, can lead to women feeling marginalised.

Ms Gora said: “At the moment we need to secure half a million pounds to secure a site.

"We are currently in discussions with Bradford Council and other landowners.

“We’re hoping for something either in the city centre or in close proximity to it. We’re looking at a range of different options across the city.

“We’ve been gaining speed on the project recently, we’ve got a team together and everything is moving in the right direction. We’re aiming for completion in 2020.

“This is the design we want to re-create. It is very deliberate on our part to move away from the minarets and domes, the more traditional view of mosques.

“The aim is for this fantastic building, a 21st century building that is very welcoming. The design has plenty of natural light. We want something that will put Bradford on the map.

“We welcome money from any individuals or organisations.”

The organisation is speaking to other women’s groups and the Council for Mosques as it tries to raise funds.

Earlier this year, the Muslim Women's Council announced that the mosque would feature a partnership with the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, offering hospice services in the centre.

The crowdfunding campaign runs for another 20 days and anyone who wants to help fund the mosque can visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/womenledmosque.