This is how the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic commented on the situation around the construction. But this is not the only unfinished temple.
Instead of the long-awaited azan, today you can only hear the howling of the wind on the territory of the unfinished mosque. Watchman Anatoly Zemlyakov is the only one who works here: he walks around the territory, strengthens fences and feeds dogs. You can’t live without them at an abandoned construction site.
Construction of the cathedral mosque in Ufa began in 2007. Made in the form of a khan's tent, with a gilded dome and minarets in the form of spearheads, it will become one of the most beautiful in the country, the chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic, Nurmukhamat Hazrat, is sure. At 12 thousand square meters In addition to the prayer hall, there will be a museum, a library, and an educational school.
Now we are on the roof of the largest mosque in the republic under construction. The height of its minarets is 77 meters. There is also a special tourist balcony here. It is from this point that the Intercession Church of Ufa is clearly visible. According to the project, an interfaith alley was to be laid out from the mosque to the Orthodox church. But for now these grandiose plans remain just that.
Two years ago, construction of the mosque was stopped. Various reasons were given. According to Rishat Zainagabdinov, the project sponsor encountered financial difficulties and turned to the customer with a request to reduce construction costs and eliminate affiliation. But the appeal remained unheeded. Afterwards, funding for the project ceased.
The customer-developer assures that construction is delayed due to the unresolved land issue. Back in 2013, when the Spiritual Administration of Muslims accepted the facility, an examination showed that the previously built structure would not withstand the load of the minarets. They began to build a stylobate 30 meters wide. But gradually the area of the mosque went beyond the boundaries of the site.
The project for planning and surveying the block, say representatives of the developer, which was prepared in 2016, was ultimately not approved by the city administration. According to our sources, today the land issue rests on the finalization of this project. The administration itself gives extremely restrained comments, noting only that today an agreement has been reached with the customer of the facility on a joint solution to the issue.
Meanwhile, residents of the private sector, which were approached by construction, also became hostages of the long-term construction.
The mosque that greets everyone entering Ufa today is not the only unfinished temple in the city.
Prayers in the Resurrection Cathedral are heard in spite of all circumstances. Seven years ago, when it became clear that the church under construction had become a long-term construction project, one of the small areas of the temple was converted for worship.
Construction of a new Orthodox church on Komsomolskaya Street began in 2003. It was supposed to become an exact copy of the Resurrection Cathedral, which has not survived to this day, on the site of the current Bashdrama Theater. The construction was frozen due to lack of funding. Hope, says the rector of the temple, appeared when a special fund was created in the city last fall.
The parishioners of the temple have been waiting for more than 15 years now. They themselves admit that, whenever possible, they participate in fundraising. However, it is obvious that such large-scale objects, which should have taken their rightful place on the map of the republic’s attractions, cannot be completed by the efforts of believers alone.
10.04.2015
In the north-eastern part of the Bashkir capital, in the Inors microdistrict, another temple of God has opened its doors to parishioners. At the opening of “Madina” - that’s what the mosque was called - many Muslims gathered, the guests of honor among whom were: the Supreme Mufti, Sheikh-ul-Islam, Chairman of the Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Russia Talgat Safa Tadzhuddin; Chairman of the Council for State-Interfaith Relations under the President of the Republic of Belarus Vyacheslav Pyatkov; CEO group of companies "Bashstroydetal", chairman of the commission of the World Kurultai of Bashkirs on entrepreneurship, economics and land management Airat Yulmukhametov; representatives of the authorities and Muslim clergy of Bashkortostan and neighboring regions.
On behalf of the state, Vyacheslav Pyatkov congratulated the residents of the microdistrict on the opening of Madina. He noted:
“We have a multi-confessional republic. We have churches, synagogues, and mosques. And, of course, I want to once again thank the respected Supreme Mufti for his spiritual service and for the rise of morality in society. One example is the opening of this mosque today. I wish you good health, success, so that peace, tranquility and good, good relations between all religions and nations will always reign in our home, which is called Russia.”
Talgat Tajuddin emphasized:
“This is an amazing mosque: there are no minarets, no mihrab... For many years, devout Muslims of Inors have been praying in several rooms of a rented apartment. There were people who, from the bottom of their hearts, sincerely wished to help the Muslim community and provided this room for several hundred people so that daily prayers and Friday holidays could be held...
The mosque is a piece of Paradise. You need to come here not for food and drink, but for food for the soul, because we have become starved of it over many decades of state atheism. Only under our spiritual administration, 14,500 mosques were destroyed, as well as tens and tens of thousands of Orthodox churches and synagogues. Tens of thousands of members of the clergy were repressed: some to Siberia, some to be shot. But faith, we believe, is not only in churches, it must, first of all, be in the soul. The Almighty says in the Holy Quran: “Not one of you will ever enter Paradise until he believes in God.” It also says that “not one of you will truly believe in God until you love each other.”
The opening of the mosque is a huge event in the life of all residents of Inors. Let it be the place where we, especially young people, will diligently learn traditional Islam, which our ancestors bequeathed to us, which is based on the holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).”
The mosque is located on the fourth floor of an administrative building. Previously, a local boiler house was located here, which entrepreneurs, in particular Ayrat Yulmukhametov, bought and improved in less than six months. The temple is represented by two prayer halls: men's and women's. The bathrooms are equipped with heated floors. The mosque gives out free dates.
After the ceremonial part, the Supreme Mufti held a Friday service. At the end of the collective prayer, a festive table awaited all guests.
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. 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
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.
At the construction site, journalists were met by the General Director of the BNZS General Contracting Trust Alexey Popyonov and the Director of the Republican Capital Construction Administration (RUKS) 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.