A recently built mosque pulled down in the capital of Chechnya

A mosque in Grozny, Ahmat Kadyrov avenue, built last year was pulled down within the framework of a large-scale reconstruction of the main street of the capital of Chechnya. The municipal authorities decided that this small mosque would not fit into the new image of the main street of the town.

The walls and part of the mosque have already been removed with the help of special techniques. The workers now only have to pull down two tall minarets and dismantle the dome of the mosque.

An official of the municipal administration declared that the decision of pulling down the mosque was “caused by necessity”. “Beside the mosque, some more objects were pulled down in the avenue: stalls, store units and the like which did not fit into the architectural image of the town”, he says. 

Representatives of the clergy and local residents consider these actions of the authorities a blasphemy. “It is quite inadmissible to pull down a mosque, all the more so under the pretext of its “not fitting into the architectural image of the town”. In addition, it was built quite recently, faced with natural stone and quite harmonized with the general background. Good causes like renewal streets, houses etc. can never be done by means of encroachments upon the Home of Allah”, a mullah of one of the mosques of Grozny who preferred to remain anonymous commented on the issue.  

Opening of the renewed avenue named after late Ahmat Kadyrov, father of today’s President of the Republic, is planned for August, 23, Ahmat Kadyrov’s birthday. Today Kadyrov avenue looks like a great building site where over two thousand people work in three relays.