Russia’s biggest mosque to be built in Moscow

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Published time: August 17, 2012 11:12
Edited time: August 20, 2012 11:27

Muslim men and a crescent moon reflected in a puddle during the Eid al-Adha (Kurban Bairam in Russian) festival of sacrifice holiday in Moscow. (AFP Photo / Dmitry Kostyukov)

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Politics, Religion, Russia

A huge mosque able to accommodate up to 60,000 worshipers is to be built on the outskirts of Moscow. It’s estimated the city is home to up to two million Muslims.

The project to construct the mosque and a cultural center has already been discussed with the capital’s mayor Sergey Sobyanin and is currently being looked at by Moscow’s Committee on Architecture and Urban Planning, writes Izvestia daily.

The new mosque is expected to become one of the largest in the post-Soviet countries and the most spacious in Russia. The town planners have yet to find a suitable location for the massive structure. The Muslim community would prefer it to be located close to the Moscow Ring Road and not far from the Metro. A decision is expected to be announced in September.

“We asked the Moscow government to give us a parcel of land. The work with documents is currently underway and we are expecting an official response,” Albir Krganov from the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims in Russia told the paper. A new mosque is essential, he stressed.

“According to different estimates, several million Muslims reside in Moscow and the Moscow region. Four mosques for such a large city as Moscow are not enough,” Krganov pointed out.

Senior Orthodox Church official Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin also agrees that it is necessary to build the mosque, but it is essential to choose a proper site for its construction, he noted.

Because of the lack of space in mosques, Moscow authorities currently allow thousands of worshipers to pray in the streets during the most important Muslim holy days. Crowds lay down their prayer mats on the pavement creating traffic jams and getting in the way of Muscovites rushing to work. The construction of a new mosque could partly solve the problem.

Moscow Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with morning prayers 19.08.2012.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)

Moscow Muslims celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with morning prayers.(RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich)

Comments (186)

Ronald (unregistered) 17.12.2012 14:34

I cannot beleive my eyes!!!Russia did not learn from western country's??20 years from now Russia will be devastated by muslims!

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russian's friend (unregistered) 12.11.2012 18:41

Alhamdulillah.. it is good sign.. I like russia and russian, because I read some part of russia, a king, Dulkarnain lived in, who traveled to end of the earth. I got interested in Russian people. they are better multiple times than the Americans, If American changes.. Only God knows.. Americans are the most worst hit manuals spreading wrong message about the Islam, becuase they fear of strong and largest growing Islam religion in the world. they are afraid of their own people who are reverting in large numbers year by year.. Amercian term is going to be on an end of their era..soon. Insha Allah

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FlariuS 21.09.2012 22:49

wayne (unregistered) wrote in #13Great Russians should all convert to Islam because not only will it sort out the moral back bone of Russian society it might invigorate a sense that Russian future is pro christian Muslim instead of west where Christians are pro Jewish but drawing the line on this issue Christians have more in common with Muslims than Christians have in common with Jews so it would be in the interest of Christianity to side with Islam so that a nwo can prevail in truth where as western society is absent of faith yet have been rounded up over century's as Christians to fight the wars of the Jew and have been used to denie there own savior Christ in the process but to conclude christian should all convert to Islam so that the spirit of peace can be rescued from the acursment of western liberalization of the masses of people if the holy grail is real then for those who fight for a nwo will be bound by a gift of the holy spirit for human kind to live in peace but only when the true will of allah is done can such a gift be given to humanity so read the quran and thinkThat sort of thinking will make all russians fear the muslims! i am a christian russian. Orthodox. and so what if i truly belive like you in my faith i am to be trown out from my home? i realy worry that many muslims realy like to make russia muslim country. understand this. russia always were multi religious and cultural and to put russians under the muslim religion will not solve anything . it will truly devide russia. and when advokats in moscow say they want to put sheriad in russia or all the streats will be filed with blood. is it good? is that what we can expect if such very well known figures already saying that? my culture is christian and i will defend it to the last if i will have to. my country with its history never had sharia law. and that how it should stay for russia to be multicultural. if you want sharia then move some were else. so my main point is that if muslims in russia agree and accept with that that russia will be multi religeous and cultural country then it is great.

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