Aqmescit Friday Mosque

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Coordinates: 44°55′43″N 34°08′18″E / 44.92861°N 34.13833°E / 44.92861; 34.13833

Aqmescit Friday Mosque
Акъмесджитская соборная мечеть.jpg
Aqmescit Friday mosque (is being built now)
Religion
AffiliationIslam
Ecclesiastical or organizational statusbeing built
Location
LocationSimferopol (Disputed between Russia and Ukraine[1])
Architecture
Architect(s)Idris Yunusov, Emil Yunusov
TypeMosque
StyleIslamic, Crimean Tatar architecture
Completedis to be completed in 2020
Specifications
Capacity3,000
Dome height (outer)28 m (92 ft)
Minaret(s)4
Minaret height58 m (190 ft)

Aqmescit Friday Mosque (Crimean Tatar: Aqmescit Cuma Camisi), or Great Friday Mosque (Crimean Tatar: Büyük Cuma Camisi, Ukrainian: Велика соборна мечеть, romanized: Velyka soborna mechet') is the largest mosque in Aqmescit (Simferopol), Crimea, which has been under construction since 2015 after Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula. According to the plan, it was to be completed on 21 April 2020, but has been since postponed to 2021.

History[]

The Crimean Tatar community had been facing sought permission to build a mosque on the location of the current site since 1996, but the requests were rejected by the Sevastopol City Council for various reasons (a positive decision was made in 2004, but this was rolled back in 2008), which occasionally proposed to change the location from Yalta Highway 22 to Logovaya Street 6.[2] In January 2008 the Tatars erected a tent city on the location in protest of the inaction of the council and began to transport around 100,000 limestone pieces to the site.[3][4][5]

The stone plaque installed at the site on 3 March 2011

When in February 2008 the Economic Court of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea demanded that the city council issue a construction permit for the location along the Yalta Highway, the then head of Simferopol, Gennady Babenko, declared:[4]

Firstly, the decision of the Economic Court [of Crimea] has not yet entered into force, and, of course, we will certainly appeal. And secondly, the absolute majority of city residents insistently demand that there should be a forest park zone... If other religious confessions raised questions about the construction of their temples in the protected zone, near the reservoir, from which we actually drink water, our attitude towards them would be exactly the same. Contact the environmentalists, contact the water resources management department — they will tell you everything and show you. It's actually about people's health and lives, you see?

— Gennady Babenko, Head of Simferopol, March 2008

In October 2009, the New York Times reported on the project and the local divisions connected to it among the locals, such as citing Tatar concerns that the city wouldn't follow through on promises to grant permits in the proposed alternative locations and accusing it of NIMBYism. Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People member Refat Chubarov was quoted saying that the mosque project was expected to cost more than $10 million, most of which would be provided by Turkish and other foreign donors.[5]

Finally, on 15 February 2011 the City Council relented and voted to issue a construction permit to the Spiritual Direction of the Muslims of Crimea for the 2,8 hectare plot and the Crimean Tatar community placed a large memorial stone on the location of the future mosque in March. However, the construction was scheduled to begin only in April 2014 to correspond with a summit between the presidents of Ukraine and Turkey, who would also unveil the construction site. The project was then postponed due to the Russian annexation.[6]

Construction works were restarted in September 2015, with the deadline moved multiple times from early 2020 to 2021.[7] In September 2015, the partially-recognised[8] Grand Mufti of Crimea, announced that the construction project would be funded by Turkish authorities and built by a Turkish construction company.[9] However, private donations from local and Russian donors were also raised.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ This place is located on the Crimean peninsula, most of which is the subject of a territorial dispute between Russia, which administers the contested area, and Ukraine, whose internationally recognised boundaries include the contested area. According to the political division of Russia, there are federal subjects of the Russian Federation (the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol) located on the peninsula. According to the administrative-territorial division of Ukraine, there are the Ukrainian divisions (the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city with special status of Sevastopol) located on the peninsula.
  2. ^ "Бабенко настаивает, чтобы Джума-Джами построили на ул. Луговая, 6" [Babenko insists that the mosque should be built on Lugovaya street 6]. QHA (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  3. ^ "В Симферополе татары разбили палаточный городок, требуя землю под мечеть" [The Tatars set up a camp near Simferopol, demanding land for a mosque]. Комментарии Украина (in Russian). 2008-01-23. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  4. ^ a b "Cоборная мечеть. Конфликт продолжается" [Friday mosque. The conflict goes on]. Ислам в Украине (in Russian). 2008-03-05. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  5. ^ a b Levy, Clifford J. (2009-10-30). "Crimean Mosque Project Stirs Debate and Trauma". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  6. ^ Solovey, Oleg (2014-04-16). "Оккупация Крыма заставила отложить строительство Соборной мечети в Симферополе" [Construction of the Large Mosque of Sevastopol has to be postponed due to the Occupation of Crimea]. Крым.Реалии (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  7. ^ "Соборная мечеть Крыма откроется летом 2020 года" [The Great Mosque of Crimea to open in the summer of 2020]. Недвижимость РИА Новости (in Russian). 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  8. ^ "Emirali Ablaev re-elected Crimean Mufti - RISU". Religious Information Service of Ukraine. 2018-10-30. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  9. ^ "Turkey to build Crimea's largest mosque - World News". Hürriyet Daily News. 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2021-10-13.
  10. ^ "На Соборную мечеть в Симферополе анонимно пожертвовали 3 миллиарда" [3 billion [roubles] raised for the Great Mosque of Simferopol]. avdet.org (in Russian). 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2021-10-13.


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