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Grand Mosque’s opening in Moscow

The opening ceremony was attended by Russian president and leaders of Turkey and Palestine

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The Grand Mosque opened on September 23 in the Russian capital after a decade of construction work

© AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin

The ceremony took place on the eve of Eid al-Adha, known in Russia as Kurban Bairam, a major religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

The opening ceremony was attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the head of Tatarstan Republic, Rustam Minnikhanov. Photo: Ravil Gainutdin, the chairman of the Council of Russia’s Muftis (front)

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ravil Gainutdin, the chairman of the Council of Russia’s Muftis

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

US ambassador to Russia, John Tefft (center) at the opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque after a major reconstruction

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

Ravil Gainutdin, the chairman of the Council of Russia’s Muftis speaking at the opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque after a major reconstruction

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

Russian President Vladimir Putin at the opening of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque after a major reconstruction

© TASS/Mikhail Metzel

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

The mosque was demolished and rebuilt to be one of the biggest mosques in the country with a room for 10,000 believers

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

As a result of the reconstruction, costing some $170 million, the building’s floor space has been increased twenty-fold to 19,000 square meters

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

Islam is the second largest religion in Russia, which has more than 7,000 mosques

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

The decision to step up the construction of mosques in Moscow comes amid a significant growth of the Muslim population. Photo: The main prayer hall of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque

© TASS/Valeriy Sharifulin

Russia is home to a total of 23 million Muslims representing 38 peoples, according to the Council of Muftis

© EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

The Grand Mosque opened on September 23 in the Russian capital after a decade of construction work. The opening ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev. The mosque was demolished and rebuilt to be one of the biggest mosques in the country with a room for 10,000 believers. As a result of the reconstruction, costing some $170 million, the building’s floor space has been increased twenty-fold to 19,000 square meters. Grand Mosque’s opening in Moscow - in this photo gallery by TASS.

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