I’ll say right away that I didn’t know much about Islam at all until I came to work in Ufa. And I don’t know that much even now. Therefore, please correct me if I write something wrong. But, in general, I wanted to write here about what I saw and heard myself. Maybe these will turn out to be a little scattered thoughts. But that’s just the way it is - just scraps of different impressions that left their mark on the memory.
What do they write there? That the height of the minarets of the mosque - already 76.7 meters - is so far the highest in our country. The shrine of the mosque will be the hair of the Prophet Muhammad; the capacity of the halls will be more than 2 thousand people.
What else do they write there? Miscellaneous. That the construction of the mosque was frozen in 2009 due to the theft of 70 million rubles. It’s even somehow very difficult for me to understand - that you can steal money collected for the construction of a religious shrine. But in our country anything is possible.
Recently, construction of the mosque resumed, and now it is growing right before our eyes. This summer her appearance changed from day to day.
This is how I saw the construction site this spring.
And now, over the summer, the minarets have already been completed.
"Gilding" is now visible from afar.
I also found a model of this mosque on the Internet - what beauty awaits us.
And if we continue the topic of mosques. There are many of them in Ufa, they write that there are 18.
Of those that I saw myself, I liked the new mosque I saw in the Demsky district - unfortunately, I still don’t know its name.
And, naturally, one of the universally recognized decorations of the city is the Lyalya-Tulpan Cathedral Mosque. And what I realized now is that I don’t have my own photograph of her, although I was passing by, naturally. big number once. So, there is only one absolutely nothing on the phone.
And as for the Muslims themselves... As they write again on Wikipedia, according to the 2010 All-Russian Population Census, Russians in Ufa make up 48.9% of the city’s population, Tatars - 28.3%, Bashkirs - 17.1%, Ukrainians - 1.2%, persons of other nationalities - 4.5%.
This, of course, is not at all data on religious belief, but at least some general picture about the ratio of the main religions in the city - Christianity and Islam - they are approximately equally divided. The domes of Orthodox churches alternate with Muslim crescents, the whole city celebrates Easter and Eid al-Fitr together. And, in general, no one sees a problem with this. This is a city where you can learn tolerance. Hm. I just want to continue the thought - unlike Ukraine, where the Slavic-Ukrainian brothers are already fighting with the Slavic-Russians.
Yes, by the way, in Ufa there are two more holidays than in Russia - the holidays of Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram are also celebrated on weekends. In addition to Bashkiria, this is a weekend in Tatarstan, Chechnya, Adygea, Dagestan and some other regions. More recently - in Crimea.
And as for observing the commandments of the Koran here. It is difficult for me to judge this, because I judge more on the basis of nationality than on the very spirit of religion. The Koran prohibits Muslims from smoking and drinking alcohol. To be honest, I sometimes meet tipsy people here of all nationalities without exception. But apparently, this is not an indicator of people’s true affiliation with Islam. Maybe it's just the wrong circle of people.
As for the pillars of Islam - which of them is clearer and clearer to me. This is namaz (daily five times prayer), zakat (donations, alms), fasting (eid) in the month of Ramadan and hajj to Mecca. What did you see here from this? Hard to tell. Again - apparently, the wrong social circle. Although some of my friends consider themselves spiritually to be Islam, as they say themselves, due to their work it is difficult for them to perform prayers and keep their minds up. They go to the mosque, but holidays, they give out alms there. And performing hajj for them is not so cheap and easy.
As for food - yes, they eat less pork here. For many families, this is a real tradition that can be followed. What hurts the eye a little is that there is a lot of horse meat sold in stores. But I always feel sorry for horses - like those, galloping freely across the steppe... But that’s just me, hmm.
What else would I like to say at the end of the topic? About women and girls in closed Muslim clothing.
You can see them here quite often - scarves, long dresses - everything is covered except the face and hands. That sometimes I think, looking at them, that this probably gives them some kind of internal protection. It’s even difficult to explain what exactly I mean. But I'll try. A woman in a hijab is a certain image that is more correct and righteous than the world around her. Such a woman cannot be answered with rudeness. It carries spirituality and faith. Something like this.
So, as promised, I ended up with some slightly confusing thoughts. But this is how it turned out - Islam in Ufa - through the eyes of its Russian guests.
In Ufa, on Salavat Yulaev Avenue, with funding from the URAL Charitable Foundation, the construction of the Cathedral Mosque continues. The mosque will be one of the largest in Europe.
The decision to build a mosque in Ufa was made by the leadership of the republic back in 2006. Construction work began at the same time, but later the construction was “frozen” due to lack of funds. It became possible to resume work when the decision to finance it was made by the URAL Charitable Foundation.
The mosque project developed by CJSC PI "Bashkirgrazhdanproekt" is unique. The mosque will have four minarets with a dome. The height of the minarets will be 74 meters, the domes - 46 meters. These dimensions are exceeded by only two mosques in Europe: the Suleymaniye Mosque (Istanbul, Turkey) and the Mezquita or Cathedral Mosque of Cordoba (Cordoba, Spain), which today has become a Catholic church.
The design elements of the mosque are specific. For example, the dome, the parts of which were manufactured in Volgodonsk at a former defense enterprise, when disassembled, consists of 32 parts. Each section weighs about three tons. The assembly and installation of these sections require the use of special technology.
The mosque will have six floors, two of them underground. On the top four floors of the project there will be prayer halls for men (1,200 people) and women (400 people), a conference hall with 270 seats, an Islamic museum, a halal cafe, an ablution room and a library. The total area of the mosque is 12.5 thousand square meters. meters, and the capacity is more than 2000 people.
To date, general construction work on the main building of the mosque has been completed. Work is underway to construct a monolithic part of the minarets, which is scheduled to be completed in June. Work is also being carried out on strengthening and external lining of the dome, and internal lining of the dome drum.
At the beginning of July, it is planned to begin attaching gold-plated plates to the domes, which is interesting in itself. Those who drive along Salavat Yulaev Avenue will be able to see the transformation of this unique Muslim religious building. Completion of the entire complex of works is planned for 2017.
The Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan pays close attention to the construction of the mosque. It is important not only to comply with the design requirements, but also with the canonical norms of Islam.
Ayup Bibarsov, first deputy mufti of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Belarus:
- Initially, it was envisaged that this mosque would become the hallmark of the republic and its capital. Based on this, the design of the mosque and its scale were laid out so that it would truly be one of the most majestic in the country. We express our deep gratitude and sincere human gratitude to the First President of the Republic, Chairman of the URAL Charitable Foundation Murtaza Gubaidulovich Rakhimov, for he is doing a huge, holy, godly work that will remain for centuries. Thanks to him, the construction of this temple of religion began, thanks to him the work continues successfully. We hope that in 2017 the mosque will be opened and will become a spiritual and cultural home for Muslims and an adornment of the republic.
We will continue to cover the progress of construction of the Cathedral Mosque in Ufa.
Photo: Timur Sharipkulov
On July 19 - after three years of inactivity - work resumed at the Ar-Rahim mosque. Correspondents from the site asked to visit the construction site to show how the most great mosque will look like in the final version.
Journalists were met at the construction site CEO"General Contracting Trust "BNZS"" Alexey Popenov and Director of the Republican Department of Capital Construction (RUCS) Gafur Kulmurzin.
According to the curator and general contractor of the project, work is currently underway to install an external storm drainage system to drain rainwater, monolithic structures are being built for people with limited mobility, and stairs made of monolithic concrete.
In parallel, the minarets are faced with white marble. This is the whitest marble that exists in nature; it is brought to Ufa straight from the island of Thassos in Greece.
Work is currently underway on the roof. This is an exploitable roof on which people will walk and fire trucks will drive up. The roof of the main building is currently undergoing inspection. There are leaks here and there,” says Alexey Popyonov.
About 40 people are employed at the site at the same time. According to the general contractor, all areas of work are covered.
Power supply, internal communications, ventilation - it was started. We are currently inspecting the equipment that was installed. We are preparing to start heating for finishing work in the winter. To achieve this, we are currently inspecting the boiler room, restoring equipment and installing a heating system. The mosque has two heating systems - heated floors and radiators, says Popenov.
The reason for the rush to insulate the mosque was explained by Gafur Kulmurzin.
By winter, we want to be sealed up, insulated, as we call it - so that the doors and windows will stand. According to the temporary scheme, heat has already been turned on. There is a boiler room here, it is operational, gas has been supplied. We reviewed it. Now it produces the required amount of heat. We have made a temporary heating network, it will be distributed among the rooms. It will be +10... +15 degrees here. Now we want to speed up the exterior work as much as possible, including the stylobate.
A separate organization conducts inspections of load-bearing structures. For example, they recommended strengthening the internal columns in the center of the mosque. The columns were “dressed” in metal corsets.
The contractor says that there are no difficulties after the resumption of construction. There are minor problems, but solutions are found literally within one day. There is enough experience - the Republican Department of Capital Construction, for example, was engaged in the reconstruction of the Church of the Virgin Mary on Kirov Street.
What the mosque and the area around it will look like in the final version is now being actively discussed at meetings at the mayor’s office. Representatives of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims and main architector cities.
It is expected that the main hall will host all major religious events and, of course, services. The mosque also has separate rooms for the imam, his reception room, and a conference room.
The main hall already looks solemn and monumental.
According to the builders, there is a lot of work ahead, since the mosque building has many levels. They plan to work on each of them in stages.
From the balconies of the main hall you can watch the divine service taking place below. It is expected that the mosque will be able to accommodate three thousand people at a time.
Insiders claim that Mufti Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin did not receive the go-ahead for a new term
On Thursday, the leaders of the Council of Muftis of Russia “on instructions from Sheikh Ravil Hazrat Gainutdin” came to Ufa. The main goal is to help complete the construction of the Ar-Rahim Cathedral Mosque, which has been unfinished for more than 10 years. Such a somewhat unexpected trip by the Moscow curators of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan was not accidental. A Realnoe Vremya observer found out the details of this visit and found out when a new mufti would be elected in the republic.
Reason - mosque - unfinished construction
The day before, a delegation of the Council of Muftis of Russia headed by the first deputy chairman of the Council of Muftis of the Russian Federation, Rushan Abbyasov, came to Ufa. The official reason for the visit of the Moscow guests was to get acquainted with the situation around the unfinished Ar-Rakhim mosque on Salavat Yulaev Avenue, which has been “decorating” Ufa at the entrance to the city for more than 10 years. However, Realnoe Vremya learned other interesting details of the visit.
Another deputy chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Russian Federation, Rafik Fattakhetdinov, and the head of the Department of Internal Affairs, Ali Khasanov, arrived in the Bashkir capital as a “support group” for Abbyasov. Since the issue of constructing a grandiose object is very difficult, the delegates were accompanied by the head of the construction department of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Russian Federation Andrei Trofimov, an engineer who built the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
“Ar-Rakhim” was conceived as one of the largest religious architectural complexes in Russia with an area of 14 thousand square meters. square meters. The temple should become the largest heated mosque in Europe. The shape of the building resembles a khan's tent, surrounded by four minarets. Half of the complex should be occupied by two prayer halls for a total of 2 thousand people. The building included a madrasah for 2 thousand students, a conference hall, a museum of Islam and a library. A floor for tourists is planned, where there will be a museum, a television and radio studio, and exhibition centers. There was also a project for the development of the adjacent territory - “Muslim City”, renamed the “Interfaith Quarter of Peace and Harmony”.
Irek Yalalov supported the project to create an “Abrahamic Alley” between the mosque and the historical church. Photo ufacity.info
As our publication learned, the Chairman of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Belarus, Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin, had been seeking an audience with Rustem Khamitov for a long time in order to get the go-ahead to extend his powers for the next five years. In the end, the head of the republic received the mufti. But, according to our source familiar with the situation, Nurmukhamet Hazrat did not receive the appropriate blessing from Rustem Zakievich. By the way, Nigmatullin was not seen at meetings with Moscow visitors.
Our online newspaper has already reported about the conflict in the leadership of the religious organization, which escalated in March at a plenum in Neftekamsk. On one side of the “barricades” Nigmatullin and Bibarsov dug in, on the other - first deputy chairman Ainur Arslanov and a number of imams who supported him. However, Abbyasov assured us that the situation has now stabilized. The first two deputy chairmen of the Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Belarus behaved calmly and addressed each other quite respectfully.
All misunderstandings have ceased. Now creative work is being carried out in the spiritual administration,” he noted.
Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin long sought an audience with Rustem Khamitov in order to get the go-ahead to extend his powers for the next five years. Photo by Timur Rakhmatullin
Timur Rakhmatullin