From time to time, the information space of Bashkiria is shaken by news around the cathedral mosque under construction and the adjacent quarter on Salavat Yulaev Avenue in Ufa. For almost 10 years, the townspeople cannot wait for the mosque - one of the largest in Europe - to open its doors to believers. The place, which is supposed to be made spiritually pure, is shrouded by no means in clean deeds.
How it all began
In 2007, Bashkiria solemnly celebrated the 450th anniversary of its voluntary entry into the Russian state. The republic prepared thoroughly for this important event. A few years before the date of the celebration, the regional authorities announced megaprojects that were supposed to noticeably change the face of the capital of the republic. They were allocated 22 billion rubles. Thus, the list of grandiose construction projects in Ufa included the House of Friendship of Peoples (which had become the Congress Hall by the time of its opening), the Ufa Arena Ice Palace, the Akbuzat hippodrome, and a new air terminal. The reconstruction of the railway station was started. Salavat Yulaev Avenue was laid through the whole city, new interchanges appeared. A year before the significant date, the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future cathedral mosque. Residents of Ufa had no doubt that this project would be implemented, since other facilities were being built quite quickly. In addition, the magnificent Kul-Sharif mosque opened in Kazan, and the spirit of rivalry with Tatarstan was stronger than ever in those years. And it was necessary to build something more pretentious than the sworn neighbors.
There were stories about large construction projects on Bashkir television, videos about them were played in minibuses. Among the memorable shots is a plane flying over the dome of the future mosque. The beauty!
Times for Russia, especially for such an oil region as Bashkortostan, were, perhaps, golden. A barrel of black gold exceeded $100. The oil companies of Bashkiria were taken over by the Rakhimov clan. In general, it seemed that money flowed into the republic like a river.
True, a year after the celebration, part of the Congress Hall was closed for a long renovation. Shortcomings were also revealed in the ice palace. There were problems with heating in the international terminal of the Ufa airport. And the reconstruction of the railway station was completed only this year.
As for the mosque, charitable funds from large industrial enterprises (UMMC-Holding, Ufaorgsintez, Bashkirenergo, Bashkirnefteprodukt, Ufaneftekhim, Novoil, Ufa Oil Refinery, Bashneft, bank "Uralsib") districts and cities of Bashkiria. And at the initial stage, they were able to raise almost 300 million rubles. It was assumed that the construction will be completed in three years (from 2009 to 2010).
The regional leadership appointed the company as the customer-builder of the cathedral mosque Zhilstroykomplektsnab(LLC PKF "ZhSKS"). All monetary donations were accumulated in the accounts of this firm. The Ufa City Hall allocated a plot of land of 2.3 hectares for construction.
The cathedral mosque was conceived as one of the largest religious architectural complexes in Russia with an area of 14,000 square meters. It was to be the largest heated mosque in Europe. In form, it should personify the khan's tent, surrounded by four minarets. Half of the complex should be directly occupied by a mosque with two prayer halls for a total of 2,000 people. The building was planned to house a madrasah for 2,000 students, a conference hall, an Islamic museum and a library. Subsequently, it is planned to open a floor for tourists in the mosque, where there will be a museum, a television and radio studio, and exhibition centers. From here it will be possible to get to open viewing platforms that will allow guests to see the city from all sides. Viewing zones were also designed on two minarets.
Muftiate's Choice. Salavat Yulaev vs. "Al-Murtaza"
At the same time, two competing muftiats of Bashkiria - the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia and the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan - began to share the skin of an unkilled bear. After all, the significance of the religious center for the regional elites depended on whose jurisdiction the magnificent religious building at the entrance to Ufa would be located. In a dispute over the future mosque, the leaders of the two muftiats began to come up with names for it.
Nurmukhammed hazrat Nigmatullin. Photo source: islamrb.ru
So, the chairman of the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus, mufti Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin proposed to name her after Salavat Yulaev, the national Bashkir hero. It should be noted that almost everyone in the republic called the name of an associate of Emelyan Pugachev. For example, back in the Soviet years, the Salavatsky district and the city of Salavat appeared on the map of the BASSR, and in different parts of the region. Many sports fans probably also know about the Ufa hockey club. In addition, performances were staged about Yulaev, poems, paintings, and scientific works were dedicated to him. And the appearance of a mosque in honor of the commander (as well as a poet, musician, improviser and just an outstanding person) on the avenue of the same name would fit into the trend. In addition, since the late 90s, they began to say almost seriously that Salavat is also a saint (avliya) and a martyr for the faith, who declared jihad against royal tyranny. Despite some absurdity of such a name, for some, such a name seemed quite organic.
At the same time, the head of the Central Spiritual Directorate of Russia Talgat Tajuddin proposed his original name - "Sultan Muhammad al-Murtaza", explaining: "After all, Murtaza is one of the names of the Prophet Muhammad." By the way, one of the meanings of the name Murtaza is “the chosen one”. The presidential administration was very wary of such an initiative by Sheikh-ul-Islam. They emphasized that this name is inappropriate and will cause the population to associate not with the Messenger of Allah, but with the president Murtaza Rakhimov; the head of the republic himself is not engaged in narcissism. At the same time, Tadzhuddin promised to give the future temple a relic - a piece of hair from the beard of the prophet (which he later transferred to Bolgar).
Talgat Hazrat Tajuddin. Photo source: cdum.ru
Looking ahead (so as not to return to the issue of naming), we note that in the end the third option was chosen - "Ar-Rahim" ("Merciful"), which again sometimes becomes the subject of ironic remarks addressed to the first president of the republic.
And of the two religious organizations, the government of the republic settled on the DUM RB, which was much easier to influence. By the way, Hazrat Nurmukhamet is still considered a protege of Murtaza Rakhimov. In addition, Tadzhuddin, in fact, already had two main mosques of the republic - the First Cathedral (known as "Tukaevskaya") and "Lalya-Tyulpan".
Houston, we're in trouble
However, time passed. Anniversaries were celebrated, and construction progressed extremely slowly. In 2008 the company "UMMC-Holding" demanded an audit of the financial and economic activities of the developer and the general contractor (LLC PKF ZhSKS). It turned out that the main part of the allocated money was spent for an inappropriate purpose - for the construction of a storm drain. Another part of the funds was simply stolen. Other flagrant violations were also found: the organization made additions to its works, the cost of which was also inflated; the tax authorities had their own questions. As a result, Zhilstroykomplektsnab was removed from the construction of the religious building.
Photo source: islamrb.ru
The project of the mosque and the adjacent territory was criticized by expert architects from Moscow. It suddenly turned out that the objects being built on the site would overshadow the nearby Church of the Intercession, which for some reason the designers had not noticed before. In the end, the development plan of the territory needed to be revised taking into account the opinion of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church (later - the Bashkortostan Metropolis).
The year 2009 has come. The Bashkir oil industry became the property of AFK Sistema. Funds from the sale of the Bashkir fuel and energy complex were transferred to various accounts, which were subsequently accumulated in the Ural charity fund. The new company, together with the Fund for Targeted Programs of the Republic of Bashkortostan, allocated 150 million rubles. Construction entrusted Republican Department of Capital Construction(KP RB "RUKS"). However, the matter did not work out here either. The new developer could not find a common language with the DUM RB, which, in turn, was not satisfied with the conditions of the company. In general, construction again stalled.
In 2010, the government changed in the republic. Rakhimov was replaced Rustem Khamitov, who almost from the first days began to criticize the regime of his predecessor. Among the many promises of the new president was that he would deal with theft and achieve the continuation of construction. But no one wanted to give money for its renewal. For it is not clear where the funds are flowing, and the financing schemes, and even more so “development”, seemed to many to be very muddy. In the same year, Vyacheslav Pyatkov, chairman of the Council for State-Interfaith Relations under the President of the Republic of Belarus, announced on Bashkir television that the long-term construction would be completed in three years (in 2013).
Murtaza Rakhimov. Photo source: zampolit.com
At the same time, the ex-president of the Republic of Belarus Murataza Rakhimov, who at that time headed the Ural Foundation, offered his services to the regional government, but on its terms:
“There are no intermediaries, we only give money directly and we strictly control its spending”Initially, they say, Khamitov refused. But the pressure on the president was mounting. In 2012, the head of the Council of Muftis of Russia, Ravil Gainutdin, arrived in Ufa and met with the president. Khamitov assured a mufti from Moscow that the construction of the temple would be completed in 2015 in time for the SCO and BRICS summits. By the way, regional media did not write about this event (except for one), it is not reflected on the website of the head of the republic either. As time has shown, for good reason. Khamitov's assurances turned out to be just another promise.
As a result, the Ural Foundation and the republican authorities were able to reach an agreement by 2013. Pyatkov, repeating the words of his boss, has now shifted the deadlines announced by him earlier: “The republic will complete construction by the SCO summit” (that is, by the summer of 2015).
The customer for the construction of the mosque has changed - instead of the Communist Party of the Republic of Belarus "RUKS", it has become the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Belarus. The developer was a certain enterprise with a beautiful name Altyn Kurai LLC. The founders of the company are Ildar Isheev (50%), the head of the DUM RB, Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin (25%) and his first deputy Ayup Bibarsov (25%). Let's pay attention - in fact, the same persons acted as both the customer and the contractor. It turns out that the money from the charity fund goes to the construction through the office, which was organized by the functionaries of the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus. Despite the fact that the spiritual administration insisted on expanding the building area, the project was left the same.
Again, the equipment on the site hummed, the builders, like ants, subordinate to the common mind, painstakingly did their work. The mosque grew before our eyes. The Ural Foundation through affiliated media (Bonus newspaper, ProUfu.ru website) reported on each stage: minarets were erected, the dome was raised, crescents were installed, finishing began. In the meantime, the leadership of the Spiritual Muslim Spiritual Directorate of the Republic of Belarus invited journalists to the facility, told how wonderful the construction was going on, and shared grandiose plans. By the way, it has now been announced that the mosque will be completed by 2017, when the 100th anniversary of the Bashkir muftiate will be celebrated. Some religious rites, such as kurban, holiday prayers, etc., began to be carried out here.
Muslim City and Farman Mufti
In the same 2013, a reporting and election conference was held in the Spiritual Administration, during which Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin was re-elected for a new term. In his "pre-election" speech, the mufti also spoke about the grandiose program - Microdistrict "Muslim City" to be built along with the mosque.
Muslim City Goals
It should be a social and business center, the proceeds from which should be used to maintain the infrastructure of the Muslim religious building. The plan assumes a certain connection into a single ensemble of a mosque under construction and an Orthodox church. The project provides for the construction of a multi-height residential complex (4-15 floors) for 514 apartments with built-in commercial real estate and underground parking, a kindergarten, a green area with fountains, hotels on 3-17 floors with parking and a conference hall for 1000 places. A two-story halal cafe has been designed in the quarter, which will subsequently be assigned the number 588. A specially laid alley should connect the mosque with the Intercession Church. The territory was declared “free from haram”, that is, it will not be possible to sell alcohol here and conduct some kind of activity prohibited by Sharia. The volume of investments was estimated at 3–5 billion rubles.
“Such a complex will contribute to the development of the halal industry, will become a source of economic and social growth for the Bashkir capital, and additional jobs will be created,” Hazrat Nurmukhamet said.
Subsequently, the word "Muslim" in the name caused bewilderment among a number of Orthodox social activists, they say, the city is a multi-confessional one. And for some time, a new name for the territory began to appear - "Ufa City". During public hearings that took place later, the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus came across serious criticism from Orthodox activists. This was another bell, to which we will return a little later. Despite the fact that the development project, according to the assurances of the functionaries of the Muftiate, should symbolize peace, friendship and promote traditional Islam, such arguments did not suit the opponents. They considered that the Orthodox church would be visually compressed and thus “humiliated”. Local local historians and arch-defenders also expressed their claims. The Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus promised to take into account the opinion of the Orthodox and other dissatisfied people and correct the plan.
At the beginning of 2015, the Ural Foundation ran into a problem. His wallet has become noticeably lighter, since AFK Sistema filed a complaint and, through arbitration, recovered more than 70 billion rubles from its subsidiary LLC Ural-Invest. Then the management of the fund announced that they would not be able to finance all the charitable programs that they previously supported (for example, the Salavat Yulaev hockey club). There were fears that the construction of the mosque and the adjacent quarter would again be suspended. Rustem Khamitov, now in the status of the head of the republic (the post of president has been canceled since 2015), promised that he would find sponsors for all the projects started, including the cathedral mosque.
At the same time, the muftiate issued a "farman" (decree), which prescribed “On the occasion of the birthday of the first President of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Murtaza Gubaidullovich Rakhimov, during the Friday prayer, read the Holy Quran and pray for the health of the head of the Ural Charitable Foundation, asking Almighty Allah for long happy years of life, good health and the implementation of all tasks in the name of prosperity of native Bashkortostan". In addition, the clergy of the republic need “read a prayer for the successful activities of the Ural Charitable Foundation in the construction of the complex of the Republican Cathedral Mosque along Salavat Yulaev Avenue in Ufa and in all areas of charitable activities in the Republic of Bashkortostan”.
Either the prayers of the Bashkir imams were heard by the Almighty, or Rakhimov decided to complete the work he had begun, or some other reasons prompted him, but the fund continued to finance the construction. In addition, a settlement agreement was concluded between the Ural-Invest and Sistema companies, according to which part of the money should be returned to the Ural fund for charitable purposes. The workers started facing the building, began to bring communications. It became possible to see the mosque itself even at night: beautiful illumination was installed on it.
During the days of the SCO and BRICS summits, foreign delegations were brought to the construction site, they were told about the future grandiose temple and interfaith harmony. And everyone was assured that there were very few left, and the mosque would open its doors in just a couple of years. And around will be a small piece of Dubai.
The project of the Muslim complex in Ufa. Photo source: dumrb.ru
Found a scythe on a marble stone
But something went wrong again. The project "Muslim City", which was quietly returned to its former name, went rolling in the media and the blogosphere. The public hearings held in May 2016 were just the tip of the iceberg.
In June, a philanthropist suddenly expressed his claims to the spiritual administration. The fund suddenly began to doubt that the money was spent for its intended purpose. In addition, the sponsor, to his surprise, discovered the affiliation of the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus and Altyn Kurai, i.e. customer and contractor. In this, the Ural Foundation saw a conflict of interest. Murtaza Rakhimov's organization was indignant that expensive Greek marble was used for cladding instead of domestic. And funding for the construction again stopped.
Photo source: bfural.rf
As the political scientist Abbas Gallyamov, the management of the fund probably noticed these shortcomings before, but tried to negotiate with the violators in its own way. “Obviously, most of our religious leaders have a business streak. And it is likely that they felt that this was the very happy moment when the opportunity arose to fulfill themselves as businessmen. And Rakhimov, of course, didn’t like it: the money is from his fund.”- said Gallyamov.
The muftiate cautiously reported that they could find another investor if Rakhimov continued to put pressure on him. Gallyamov suggested that Bashneft could theoretically become a philanthropist if the company curtailed other social projects. At the same time, many considered the statement of the Muslim clergy to be a bluff and expressed doubt that a sponsor would be found.
Mufti of Bashkiria. Photo source: dumrb.ru
The spiritual administration was put forward three conditions from "Ural": to replace expensive imported marble with a domestic analogue; terminate the contract between the Muftiate and Altyn Kurai LLC; top managers of the DUM RB must give up their shares in the contractor company. And the general director of the company should not be an official of a religious organization. If the requirements are met, the infusion of money will continue.
In August, the Metropolitan of Ufa also got involved. Nikon (Vasyukov), who had previously kept silent (or supported the project, as was repeatedly assured in the DUM RB). The dignitary of the Russian Orthodox Church burst into righteous anger because of the construction that had begun: in his opinion, the development of the territory along the path proposed by the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus is ill-conceived. And the name "Muslim City," he said, could provoke sectarian conflict. Vladyka wrote his claims, somewhat reminiscent of threats, to the mayor of Ufa, Irek Yalalov, so that he would understand the situation.
After that, the administration of the Bashkir capital rejected the block development project. City officials, in particular, were not satisfied with the name "Muslim City", which the Muftiate should have abandoned earlier, because there is also a church on this territory. The Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus backed down, and "by mutual agreement of the leaders of traditional confessions" the microdistrict became the "Inter-confessional quarter of peace and harmony."
Meanwhile, the Ural Foundation filed a lawsuit demanding the recovery of 64.5 million rubles spent "inappropriately" from the DUM RB. The Spiritual Administration, which has not commented on its spat with the sponsor for a long time, said that “Issues regarding the replacement of facing marble, the change of the general contractor were artificially inspired to provoke a conflict with subsequent wide media coverage”. Also, the muftiate suggested that in this way the fund was preparing the ground for Rakhimov to loudly announce the cessation of funding.
Rustem Khamitov. Photo source: Kommersant
Rustem Khamitov, in one of the interviews, which took place on the eve of the Duma elections, said that he would make "maximum efforts to complete the construction of the mosque." The elections were over, and Murtaza Rakhimov made an unexpected political move: he publicly (through the foundation's website) asked his successor to intervene and together complete the construction of the mosque, in which 1.5 billion rubles had already been invested. The head of the republic replied that he would not interfere in the situation, since "the possibilities of the Ural Foundation to solve problems have not been exhausted."
The meeting of the Arbitration Court has not yet taken place, and the fate of the mosque, and even more so of the quarter, is still unknown. Each side (the Ural Foundation, the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus, the Government of the Republic of Belarus) is primarily concerned with its own utilitarian interests. Although everyone loudly declares support for the Ummah, the prestige of the republic, and so on, there is no certainty that all of them are really interested in the development of Islam. For some, the elections are over and you can forget about your promises. Here, as they say, the gentlemen are fighting ... By the way, Bashkiria will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2019. Will the Muslim complex be operational at least by this date? The question remains open.
Photo source: bfural.rf
Timur Rakhmatullin
In Ufa, on Salavat Yulaev Avenue, with the financing of 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. At the same time, construction work began, but later the construction was "frozen" due to lack of funds. It became possible to resume work when the decision on their financing was made by the URAL Charitable Foundation.
The project of the mosque, developed by CJSC PI "Bashkirgrazhdanproekt", is unique. The mosque will have four domed minarets. The height of the minarets will be 74 meters, the domes - 46 meters. These dimensions exceed only two mosques in Europe: the Suleymaniye Mosque (Istanbul, Turkey) and the Mesquita or Córdoba Cathedral Mosque (Cordoba, Spain), which has become a Catholic church today.
The construction elements of the mosque are specific. For example, the dome, the details of which were made in Volgodonsk at a former defense plant, 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, prayer halls for men (for 1,200 people) and women (for 400 people), a conference hall for 270 people, an Islamic museum, a halal cafe, a room for ablution and a library will be located. The total area of the mosque is 12.5 thousand square meters. meters, and the capacity - more than 2000 people.
To date, civil works on the main building of the mosque have been completed. Work is underway on the construction of the monolithic part of the minarets, which is scheduled to be completed in June. Work is also being carried out to strengthen and external lining of the dome, the inner lining of the dome drum.
In early July, it is planned to start attaching gilded plates to the domes, which is interesting in itself. Those who will pass 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 scheduled 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 design requirements, but also the canonical norms of Islam.
Ayup Bibarsov, First Deputy Mufti of the Spiritual Board 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 was laid, its scale, so that it really was one of the most majestic in the country. We express our deep gratitude and sincere human thanks to the First President of the Republic, Chairman of the URAL Charitable Foundation Murtaza Gubaidullovich Rakhimov, for he is doing a huge, holy, charitable deed 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 ornament of the republic.
We will continue to cover the construction of the Cathedral Mosque in Ufa.
10.04.2015
In the northeastern part of the Bashkir capital, in the Inors microdistrict, another church of God opened its doors to parishioners. At the opening of "Madina" - that's what the mosque was called - a lot of Muslims gathered, the guests of honor among whom were: the Supreme Mufti, Sheikh-ul-Islam, the Chairman of the Central Muslim Spiritual Directorate of Russia, Talgat Safa Tadzhuddin; Vyacheslav Pyatkov, Chairman of the Council for State-Interfaith Relations under the President of the Republic of Belarus; Airat Yulmukhametov, General Director of the Bashstroydetal Group of Companies, Chairman of the Commission of the World Bashkir Kurultai on Entrepreneurship, Economics and Land Management; representatives of the authorities and the 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 Grand Mufti for his spiritual service and for raising 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 always reign in our house, which is called Russia.
Talgat Tadzhuddin emphasized:
“This is an amazing mosque: there are no minarets, no mihrab... For many years, the faithful Muslims of Inorsa 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 festive Friday prayers were held ...
The mosque is a piece of Paradise. One should come here not for food and drink, but for the sake of food for the soul, because we have starved it for many decades of state atheism. In our spiritual administration alone, 14,500 mosques were destroyed, as well as tens and tens of thousands of Orthodox churches and synagogues. Tens of thousands of representatives 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 in the Holy Quran says: "None of you will ever enter Paradise until he believes in God." It also says that "none of you will truly believe in God until you love one another."
The opening of the mosque is a huge event in the life of all residents of Inors. Let it be the place where we will diligently, especially young people, learn traditional Islam, which our ancestors bequeathed to us, which is based on the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).”
The mosque is located on the fourth floor of the administrative building. Previously, a local boiler house was located here, which entrepreneurs, in particular, Airat Yulmukhametov, bought out and improved in less than six months. The temple is represented by two prayer halls: male and female. Bathrooms are equipped with heated floors. Dates are distributed free of charge in the mosque.
After the solemn part, the Supreme Mufti held a Friday service. At the end of the collective prayer, a festive table awaited all the 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 behalf of 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 of the Moscow curators of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Republic of Bashkortostan was not accidental. The observer of Realnoe Vremya found out the details of this visit and found out when a new mufti will be elected in the republic.
Reason - a long-term mosque
The day before, a delegation of the Council of Muftis of Russia headed by the first deputy chairman of the RMC and the DUM of the Russian Federation, Rushan Abbyasov, arrived in Ufa. The official reason for the visit of the Moscow guests was to get acquainted with the situation around the unfinished Ar-Rahim mosque on Salavat Yulaev Avenue, which has been decorating Ufa at the entrance to the city for more than 10 years. However, Realnoe Vremya found out other curious details of the visit.
As a “support group” for Abbyasov, another deputy chairman of the Spiritual Spiritual Administration of the Russian Federation, Rafik Fattakhetdinov, and the head of the department of internal affairs, Ali Khasanov, arrived in the Bashkir capital. Since the issue of erecting a grandiose object is very difficult, the delegates were accompanied by the head of the construction department of the DUM RF, Andrey Trofimov, an engineer who built the Moscow Cathedral Mosque.
"Ar-Rahim" 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 2,000 people. The building provided for a madrasah for 2,000 students, a conference hall, an Islamic museum 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 Accord.
Irek Yalalov supported the project to create "Abrahamic Alley" between the mosque and the historic church. Photo ufacity.info
As it became known to our publication, Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin, chairman of the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus, sought an audience with Rustem Khamitov for a long time in order to get approval to extend his powers for the next five years. In the end, the head of the republic accepted the mufti. But, according to our source familiar with the situation, Khazrat Nurmukhamet 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 a 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 - the first deputy chairman Ainur Arslanov and a number of imams who supported him. However, Abbyasov assured us that the situation had now stabilized. The two first deputy chairmen of the Spiritual Muslim Board of the Republic of Belarus kept calm, addressed each other quite respectfully.
All misunderstandings are gone. Now creative work is being carried out in the spiritual administration, - he noted.
Nurmukhamet Nigmatullin sought an audience with Rustem Khamitov for a long time in order to get approval to extend his powers for the next five years. Photo by Timur Rakhmatullin
Timur Rakhmatullin
A photo: Timur Sharipkulov
On July 19, after three years of inactivity, work resumed at the Ar-Rahim mosque. Correspondents of the site asked for a construction site to show how the largest mosque will look like in the final version.
At the construction site, the journalists were met by Alexei Popenov, general director of the BNZS General Contracting Trust, and Gafur Kulmurzin, director of the Republican Capital Construction Department (RUKS).
According to the curator and general contractor of the project, work is currently underway to install an external storm sewer to drain rainwater, build monolithic structures for people with limited mobility, and build monolithic concrete stairs.
In parallel, minarets are lined 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.
The roof is currently being worked on. This is an exploitable roof, on which people will pass, fire trucks will drive up. The roof of the main building is currently being inspected. In some places there are leaks, - says Alexey Popyonov.
At the same time, about 40 people are involved in the facility. According to the general contractor, all fronts of work are covered.
Power supply, internal communications, ventilation - it was started. We are currently reviewing the equipment that has been installed. We are preparing to turn on the heat for finishing work in the winter. To do this, we are currently engaged in the revision of the boiler room, the restoration of equipment and the installation of the heating system. The mosque has two heating systems - underfloor heating and radiators, Popyonov says.
The reason for the rush to insulate the mosque was explained by Gafur Kulmurzin.
By winter, as we call it, we want to seal up, warm up - so that the doors and windows stand. According to the temporary scheme, heat has already been turned on. There is a boiler house here, it is operational, gas has been brought in. We revised her. Now it gives out the required amount of heat. We made a temporary heating network, it will be distributed among the rooms. It will be +10 ... +15 degrees here. Now we want to accelerate as much as possible on outdoor work, including on the stylobate.
A separate organization conducts a survey of load-bearing structures. For example, they recommended strengthening the inner pillars 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 Capital Construction Department, for example, was engaged in the reconstruction of the Church of the Virgin on Kirov Street.
How the mosque and the area around it will look like in the final version are now being actively discussed at meetings in the mayor's office. Representatives of the Central Spiritual Administration of Muslims and the chief architect of the city are participating in the discussion.
It is expected that all major religious events and, of course, services will be held in the main hall. The mosque also has separate rooms for the imam, his reception room, and a conference room.
The main hall now looks solemn and monumental.
According to the builders, there is a lot of work ahead, as there are many levels in the building of the mosque. Work on each of them is planned in stages.
From the balconies of the main hall it will be possible to watch the divine service taking place below. The mosque is expected to be able to accommodate 3,000 people at a time.
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