Members of an Ottawa mosque are in final negotiations to buy a neighbouring church, marking a new chapter in an unlikely friendship between the two congregations that began in the 1960s.

Back then, Ottawa didn’t have a mosque. The city’s Muslims, numbered only in the hundreds at the time, wanted a space where they could pray together. They turned to the Northwestern United Church, which offered them their basement.

“From day one, they’ve been very nice to us,” said Naeem Malik, president of the Ottawa Muslim Association.

In the 1970s, the Muslim community bought a plot of land next to the church, located in the city’s west end, and built the Ottawa Mosque -- the first in the city and only the second in all of Canada.

But as Ottawa’s Muslim community grew, the mosque quickly ran out of room. Once again, it turned to its Christian neighbour, which happened to be selling the location.

Scott MacCrimmon of the Kitchissippi United Church said the parish had received several bids, including ones from other Christian groups, but decided to sell to the Muslim community.

The two are now working out a $1.5-million, no-interest deal.

“In Muslim religion, we’re not supposed to pay interest and we’re not supposed to take interest on our savings,” Malik said.

Members of the two congregations say their unlikely partnership is possible because, unlike what many believe, there is more that unites the two religions than divides them -- something they learned through more than 50 years of worshipping side by side.

“They believe exactly what we as Christians believe,” said United Church congregant Wendy Warburton.

Those values include “being a good member in the society -- a good citizen, a good human being,” said Ottawa Imam Samy Metwally.

The church is set to become a community centre that will help new immigrants, including Syrian refugees, adapt to life in Canada.

With a report from CTV’s Omar Sachedina in Ottawa