We live in Kyushu area, Japan, where there one no mosques. We started to collect money for building a mosque. Can we use money donated by non-Muslims to build the mosque?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

What is apparent – Allah knows best – is that building a mosque from money donated by non-Muslims is permissible if the Muslims are in need of their donations. Those donations must remain under the sole authority of the Muslims and the donors are not to be given any power or control in the matters of the mosque.

The evidence for this ruling is that a Muslim can accept and own gifts given by a non-Muslim. Moreover, the polytheists built the Ka’bah with their own money; the Prophet ate the food of non-Muslims and he sought their help in some matters even though he was Commanded from Allah {[Allah said], "O messengers, eat from the good foods and work righteousness. Indeed, I, of what you do, am Knowing.} [Quran 23: 51]

However, the acceptance of non-Muslims’ donations should be restricted only to the limits of necessity. If you can build the mosque with your own and your Muslims brothers' money, then you are obliged to build the mosque using that money and not seek help from the non-Muslims. In this way, you will avoid the difference of opinion of scholars over this issue.

Allah knows best.