BOSTON (AP) – Thousands of worshippers gathered in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood Saturday to celebrate as construction workers lowered a bronze cap on the minaret of the largest mosque in New England.

Some Muslim women and men had tears streaming down their faces and others raised their hands in prayers as the large cap was hoisted by crane to the top of the structure – symbolizing the near completion of construction after years of legal wrangling.

The muezzin – a man appointed to call Muslims to prayer – broadcast a symbolic call that drew at least 2,000 people to pray on the grounds of the Islamic Society of Boston’s mosque.

Worshippers, however, must wait for at least six months before they could pray inside the 70,000-square-foot mosque because of ongoing construction, officials said.

Saturday’s gathering also sought to raise funds for the $14 million mosque and a related Cultural Center. Some worshippers donated cash, jewelry and other possessions.

In a dramatic gesture, a grade-school girl walked up to the podium, took off what appeared to be gold bracelets and gave them to the man leading the public fundraising drive.

A real estate agent also pledged an unspecified percentage of his future earnings for the cause.

The event comes about two weeks after two sides in a legal dispute about the construction of the mosque agreed to drop legal actions against each other.

The decision occurred three months after a Suffolk Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit by Boston resident James Policastro claiming it was unconstitutional for the city of Boston to sell land at a discount price to developers of the facility. The judge ruled Policastro had no standing to bring the suit.

Policastro agreed to drop future appeals after the Islamic Society of Boston agreed to drop a defamation lawsuit against opponents and journalists including the Boston Herald and FOX-TV, which reported on the sale. The defendants in the Islamic Society lawsuit also agreed not to pursue legal fees from the society.

Bilal Kaleem, executive director of the Boston chapter of the Muslim American Society, said the settlement will help repair relations with other religious groups.

Critics of the mosque also claimed victory, and said they will continue to seek information about the project.

The David Project, a nonprofit group, said it will pursue a lawsuit against the Boston Redevelopment Authority seeking documents about the sale.

The Islamic Society of Boston is building mosque on a Roxbury parcel it bought from the city in May 2003.

The Islamic Society paid $175,000 for the 45,000-square-foot parcel that was assessed at $401,000. The group agreed to easily achievable public benefits – including maintaining a park, and giving lectures at Roxbury Community College – as part of the sale.

The city took the parcel by eminent domain in the 1970s. The BRA selected the Muslim Council of Boston as the developer in 1992, and switched the developer to the Islamic Society of Boston in 1998.

AP-ES-06-09-07 1907EDT