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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Europe’s Largest Mosque Opens in Tatarstan |
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| Moe_D |
| 06/24/05 at 15:16:43 |
| Europe’s Largest Mosque Opens in Tatarstan The white-and-blue mosque’s central dome stands 39 meters high and the four main minarets are each 57 meters high. By Damir Ahmad, IOL Correspondent KAZAN, June 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The Qul Sharif Mosque, Europe’s largest mosque, was opened Friday, June 24, in the capital of the former Soviet republic of Tatarstan, marking the celebrations of the 1000th anniversary of the establishment of the Tatar capital. The opening of the newly-built mosque was attended by thousands of Tatar Muslims, as well as a host of senior officials and foreign guests. The two-tiered mosque has two pavilions and ornamental pools, with the upper level reserved for performing prayers while the lower floor is for museum excursions. The white-and-blue mosque’s central dome stands 39 meters high and the four main minarets are each 57 meters high. The mosque construction cost around 375 million rubles, most of which were donated by the Tatar people. The construction works in the mosque had begun in 1996 at the orders of President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaymiev to build the mosque following the example of Turkish architecture. Old Mosque The mosque is built on the site of the old eight-minaret Qul Sharif mosque in the capital Kazan. The old mosque was destroyed by the Russian troops when stormed the city in 1552 completing the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to the Russian Empire. Prominent Muslim scholar Qul Sharif was killed during the siege of the city and his name was given to the rebuilt mosque. Tatarstan is situated in the center of the Russian Federation on the East-European Plain at the confluence of the two greatest rivers -- the Volga and the Kama. Since the early days of Islam, individual Muslims and delegations visited the region of Volga-Bulgaria, today's Tatarstan. By the year 922, Islam had spread in the region and had been adopted as an official religion. At the beginning of the 13th century, Volga-Bulgaria was captured by the Mongols and forcibly included into the Golden Horde. By the beginning of the 15th century, the Golden Horde, which by then was a Muslim state, had broken down into several states, the strongest of which was Kazan Khanate. In 1552, Kazan fell to the invading troops of Ivan the Terrible and Islam was persecuted until the end of the 18th century. |
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