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.
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