Moscow Cathedral Mosque

Moscow Cathedral Mosque (Russian: Московская соборная мечеть, Moskovskaya sobornaya mechet) is the main mosque of Moscow, Russia. It is located on Olimpiysky Avenue, close to the Olympic Stadium in the centre of the city.

Moscow Cathedral Mosque
The mosque in 2016
Religion
AffiliationIslam
StatusActive
Location
Location Russia
 Moscow
Geographic coordinates55°46′45″N 37°37′37″E
Architecture
Architect(s)Nikolay Zhukov
TypeMosque
Completed1904 (old structure)
2015 (current structure)
Capacity10,000
Website
http://www.mihrab.ru/
The historic Cathedral Mosque surrounded by the construction site of the new mosque (2009)
Central hall with a dome

History

The original structure was built in 1904 according to the design of the architect Nikolay Zhukov and has undergone some reconstructions since then. It was also sometimes called "Tatar Mosque" because its congregation consisted mainly of ethnic Tatars. Socially, the Moscow Congregational Mosque was often viewed as the central mosque in Russia. It was one of the four mosques in Moscow.

The old mosque was demolished on 11 September 2011. The decision to demolish it was controversial.[1] In June 2008, the mosque was recognized as an object of cultural heritage, however, in the end of 2008 it was removed from the list of historical and architectural monuments. Thus, at the time of demolition, it was not protected.[2] There were plans to reconstruct the mosque, and the reconstruction project was designed by architect Ilyas Tazhiyev. One of the reasons for reconstruction was that the building deviated by several degrees from the direction to Mecca. The project included disassembling the mosque, collecting all the stones, and re-assembling it again with corrected orientation. In 2009, however, the Council of Muftis dismissed Tazhiyev, first claiming they will make another reconstruction project, and then demolishing the building claiming it was close to collapse.[2] Tazhiyev stated after the demolition that the reconstruction was still possible, and the building was not close to collapse.[2]

The Moscow Cathedral Mosque became the first demolished religious building in Moscow since 1978.[2]

New mosque

A new mosque has been built at the site of the former one. It was officially inaugurated on 23 September 2015. The new mosque has the capacity of ten thousand worshippers. Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Territories together with local Muslim leaders participated in the inauguration ceremony of this mosque.[3]

See also

References
  1. Krainova, Natalya (13 September 2011). "Historic Mosque Demolished on 9/11 Anniversary". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. Зачем снесли Соборную мечеть? (in Russian). Echo of Moscow. 17 September 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2011.
  3. "Central mosque of Moscow will be inaugurated in 23rd September". Shabestan News Agency. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
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