Erdoğan to attend reopening of historical Mosque in Moscow

As all preparations are completed for the reopening of the historical Cathedral Mosque, the Moscow Jum'ah Mosque, several Muslim leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan along with the leaders of different faiths, are expected to join the long-awaited Islamic event at the end of Eid-al-Adha.

The historical mosque, located on Olimpiysky Avenue, was first built in 1904 and was demolished in 2011. Under construction for four years, the mosque has been enlarged to increase the capacity of worshippers to 10,000 people.

The reopening on September 23 will see a new complex 20 times larger than its predecessor at 19,000 square meters (204,500 square feet).

The six-story mosque was equipped with seven lifts and everything necessary for the parishioners, as well as furnishings for people with disabilities.

"This is the only temple which was opened in Moscow even in the most difficult times of the Soviet period. There were attempts to destroy this mosque before the Olympic Games in 1980. But the government made the right decision and kept our current cathedral mosque," Rushan Abbyasov, the first deputy chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis said.

"The Moscow Cathedral Mosque played an important role in the Great Patriotic War," he said.

The Turkish Diyanet Foundation, an agency of Turkey's religious affairs directorate, helped with the mosque's interior design.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, regional leaders and other top figures from the Muslim world are expected to attend the ceremony.