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Moscow mayor: Plot of land to be set aside for the construction of the new mosque in Moscow

05 April 2023 22:58 (UTC +04:00)

A plot of land will be set asidefor the construction of the new mosque in Moscow, said Sergey Sobyanin, Moscow mayor, APA's Moscow bureau reports.

With this, the mayor put an end to rumours that a mosque will be built in the capital's Kosino-Ukhtomsky area, as well as allegations that citizens in that district were going to oppose the construction of a mosque.

Sobyanin stated that the small mosque with an area of 2,500 square meters will be built in Moscow's Kosino-Ukhtomsky area, not near Svyatoy Lake, but near the "Kosino" metro station.

"I received requests from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and Ravil Gaynutdin, Chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims in the Russian Federation. It was requested in both applications to select a different location for construction. On this particular occasion, I'd like to express the following:

First, the construction proposal itself was only initially reviewed by the Urban Planning and Land Commission. No decision of the Moscow government on this issue was an order of the relevant executive authorities. Secondly, there are rumors that the area of the mosque will be 40,000 square meters. This is not true. We're talking about a 2,500-square-meter facility," wrote the mayor.

Sobyanin also stated that a plot of land near the "Kosino" metro station will be set aside for the construction of a mosque.

"The mosque's surroundings will be landscaped and walkable, similar to our Orthodox temples. Moscow is a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional city. We have always lived and will live in peace and harmony," the mayor of Moscow concluded his words.